Ecology of plant breeding systems
Using my database of plant reproductive functional traits, I am examining the influence of plant breeding system on a range of ecological characteristics, from seed size to population abundance. This work is carried out in collaboration with Susan Mazer, Steven Vamosi, Rob Freckleton and Nancy Garwood.
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Spatio-temporal dynamics of arable weed populations
Using long-term spatially-explicit, temporally-replicated data on plant species occurring in the fields of 50 arable UK farms that I collected, Rob Freckleton and I are developing statistical methods to examine the effects of neighbourhood density, climate, soils and farm management on plant populations. This is part of a large RELU-funded project looking at sustainable options for biodiverse farming in the UK, coordinated by Bill Sutherland.
project website
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Species coexistence in tropical forests
With David Burslem, Nancy Garwood and Renato Valencia, I have been investigating processes governing species coexistence in a tropical forest in western Amazonia. Using the common dioecious Myrsticaceae (nutmeg) family, I have examined the distributions and dynamics of adults and seedlings, and the local neighbourhood and community-wide mechanisms that affect seedling survival. The Yasuni Forest Dynamics Plot is part of a large network of large forest plots overseen by the Centre for Tropical Forest Science.
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Statistical software
Much of the analyses I carry out are done using the open-source environment for statistical computing and graphics, R. Phylogenetic trees can be constructed using Phylomatic and visualised with Mesquite. Help with all these can be found here and here. R tips
Other useful open-source software. I also use MapMaker for GIS analyses.
