Plant-pollinator interactions and floral differentiation

开花植物的迅速多样化是自然界中最引人注目的模式之一。 这组似乎是一个典型的例子，适应辐射，估计300至3600倍的物种数量之间的差异被子植物和它的姐妹谱系。 我的研究兴趣在于探索塑造开花植物多样性的生态和进化过程。 通过过去的研究，我有助于我们理解自然选择在这组性状多样化中发挥的作用，除了研究特定性状的作用，如花的形状，在被子植物谱系中产生物种丰富度的差异。在我的研究的下一个阶段，我将扩大现有的理论在被子植物多样化的动物传粉者的作用，从一个专注于本地规模的过程，以更广泛的角度，包括区域和社区水平的过程。我还将利用我的经验，使用系统发育比较方法来解开的作用，食草动物和动物传粉者在被子植物的多样化。此外，我将启动实验系统，以探讨如何植物的适应性反应，以其他物种在社区和/或栖息地异质性影响植物传粉专业化的演变。总之，我的研究的目标是了解过去和现在的过程，促进多样化的花卉性状，物种共存，并最终，物种丰富度的差异。 我使用创新的工具，如遗传学和数学模型，以及更传统的方法，如田间实验，以更好地了解形成开花植物多样性的过程来解决这些问题。

The rapid diversification of the flowering plants is one of the most remarkable patterns in nature. This group appears to be a classic example of an adaptive radiation, with an estimated 300 to 3600-fold difference in species number between the angiosperms and its sister lineage. My research interests lie in exploring the ecological and evolutionary processes that have shaped diversity in the flowering plants. Through past research I have contributed to our understanding of the role natural selection has played in trait diversification in this group, in addition to studying the role specific traits, such as floral shape, have played in generating disparity in species richness among angiosperm lineages. In the next stage of my research I will expand existing theory on the role of animal pollinators in angiosperm diversification from a focus on local scale processes to a broader perspective that includes regional and community level processes. I will also draw on my experience using phylogenetic comparative methods to disentangle the role that herbivores and animal pollinators have played in the diversification of the angiosperms. Furthermore, I will initiate experimental systems to explore how a plant's adaptive response to other species in the community and/ or habitat heterogeneity influences the evolution of plant-pollinator specialization. In summary, the goal of my research is to understand past and present processes that promote diversification in floral traits, species coexistence, and ultimately, differences in species richness. I approach these questions using innovative tools such as phylogenetics and mathematical models, as well as more traditional methods such as field experiments in order to better understand the processes that have shaped flowering plant diversity.