 |
Students
A-G
Richard Abbott - Ph.D. Advisor Judd
Linda Abrahams - Ph.D. Advisor Chen
Silvia Alvarez-Clare - Ph.D. Advisor Mack
Botany Department, University
of Florida;
511 Bartram Hall Tel. 352-392-2159
email:
silviacr@ufl.edu
I am interested in tropical plant ecology. For my Masters, I worked in Panama looking at the relationship between shade tolerance and biomechanical traits of tree seedlings. For my PhD in Interdisciplinary Ecology, I want to explore the effects of climate change on tropical forest ecosystems and the mechanisms that lead to changes in nutrient cycling and plant communities. My research will be in Costa Rica, my native country .
Monica Arakaki Makishi - PhD. Advisor Soltis
Department of Botany,
University of Florida,
357 Dickinson Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611
Tel: 352-392-1721 ext. 508
e-mail: marakaki@ufl.edu
, marakaki@lycos.com
I work under the supervision of Dr. Douglas Soltis and Dr. Pamela Soltis. My research interests include floristics, plant systematics and population genetics. The particular group that I study is tribe Trichocereeae in the Cactaceae. In many cacti, complex patterns are found due to the formation of hybrid swarms, vegetative propagation, and polyploidy. I am attempting to understand the evolutionary dynamics that produce and maintain variation in a Peruvian genus of Cactaceae ( Haageocereus ) using molecular phylogenetic and population genetic approaches. Soltis Lab
Jeremy Ash - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
Elizabeth (Fay) Belshe - Ph.D. Advisor Schuur
Paulo Brando - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
Contact: brando@ufl.edu
Major advisor: Prof. Jack Putz.
Links: www.ipam.org.br
My academic focus is on the ecology and dynamics of
tropical
forest recovery after human-mediated disturbance. In particular I aim
to explore the resistance and resilience of natural Amazonian
ecosystems to repeated disturbance and prolonged degradation through
field experiments and modeling simulations. Currently, my major
research objective is to understand how exploding frontier expansion in
Brazil – driven by the soy and cattle ranching industries
–
and its interaction with changes in precipitation, may diminish forest
resilience through associated wildfires. The region where I currently
conduct my research, Querencia in the State of Mato Grosso, contains
one the most threatened transitional forests in Brazil; it lies between
the Brazilian cerrado, or savanna, and more humid Amazon forests to the
north. I am using field data and computer modeling to simulate forest
dynamics (carbon stocks and the hydrological cycle) in a scenario where
fire may become a recurrent event.
Mario Blanco-Coto - Ph.D. Advisor Williams
Department of Botany,
University of Florida,
220 Bartram Hall, P.O. Box 118526,
Gainesville, FL 32611-8526, U.S.A.
Phone: (352) 392-1721 ext 210
I am interested in the systematics, functional morphology, and
reproductive biology of vascular plants, with emphasis on the
Orchidaceae, the largest family of flowering plants (synantherologists
like to say that Asteraceae is the largest angiosperm family, but
orchidologists know better). For my dissertation I am working on a
monograph of the neotropical orchid genus Lockhartia , which is
composed of epiphytes that offer oils as floral rewards. I am very
interested in the many unusual pollination strategies developed by
orchids, especially pollination through sexual deceit, also known as
pseudocopulation. I am also interested in the systematics of
Aristolochiaceae (the Dutchman?s pipe vine family, which also display
unusual flower morphologies to trap their pollinating flies),
floristics of tropical countries, and the use of living plant
collections in botanical gardens for research and education.
Samuel F. Brockington - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis 
I am interested in Evolutionary development of petals within the Aizoaceae (Caryophyllales).
Kris Callis - Ph.D. Advisor Kitajima
Judy Iju Chen - Ph.D. Advisor Manchester
Department of Botany
University of Florida
210 Dickinson Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-1721ext. 250
email:
judychen@ufl.edu
I am interested in the morphology, fossil record, phylogeny, and
biogeography of Vitaceae. Here is a link to UF paleobotany student
info: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/paleobotany/staffandstudents.htm#Chen
Paul Corogin - Ph.D. Advisor Judd
385-B Dickinson Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
Tel.: (352) 392-1721 ext 211
email:
treestone@atlantic.net
My interests are plant systematics and evolution; taxonomy
and ecology of Florida plant life; floristics of Florida
natural areas.
D-M
Jennie DeMarco - M.S. Advisor Mack
Department of Botany, 509
Carr Hall,
P.O. Box 118526, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida 32611:
Tel: 352-392-7165
email: jdemarco@botany.ufl.edu
I work under the supervision of Dr. Michelle Mack. My research interest is in ecosystem ecology. I am very interested in studying and understanding the way in which nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, move within terrestrial ecosystems. My research focuses on the interactions of microbes, roots and soils and their role in nutrient cycling. I am also interested in investigating the impact of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem processes.
Ana Alice Eleuterio - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
Department of Botany ,
University of Florida,
511 Bartram Hall, P.O. Box 118526
Gainesville, Fl. 32611- U.S.A
Phone: (352) 392-1468
email:
anaalice@ufl.edu
My research, in a tropical forest managed for timber extraction in the Brazilian Amazon, focuses on the effects of forest management and other anthropogenic disturbances on forest health. I am particularly interested in understanding the role of plant-fungi interactions and their effects on the decomposition of living trees and on the occurrence of hollow or rotten standing trees.
Carmen Lorena Endara - Ph.D. Advisor Williams
FLMNH, Herbarium 385J
P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, FL 32611,
Phone: 352-392-1721 ext. 211
email:
lendara@flmnh.ufl.edu
My major interest is to better understand the patterns of endemism of
Ecuadorian orchids. What are the biological differences
between a narrow endemic vs. a widespread orchid species?
Pleurothallid orchids, the most speciose orchid group in the
neotropics, seem to be the perfect organisms to address this question.
I am currently working on the phylogenetic reconstruction of
/Scaphosepalum/ with the aim of understanding its speciation patterns
and resolving part of this conundrum.
Charlotte Germain-Aubrey - Ph.D. Advisor Gitzendanner
Soltis
Lab , 301B Dickinson Hall,
University of Florida, Gianesville, FL 32611
Tel: 352-392-1721 ext. 230
Email: cgermain@ufl.edu
My research interest is in conservation through population
genetics. I did my bachelors in ecology and a master's in
taxonomy of plants at the University of Edinburgh,
Scotland. My project was on the impact of logging on mahogany
(Swietenia macrophylla) genetic diversity in Belize. I used
microsatellites in order to find a sustainable logging regime for this
overexploited species. For my PhD, I am investigating the
genetics of Polygala lewtonii , Crotalaria avonensis , and Ziziphus
celata - three rare species occurring on the Lake Wales Ridge and
threatend by invasives and expanding citrus plantations. This
research will hopefully end with a conservation management plan
Grant Godden - Ph.D. Advisor Williams
Damion Graves - Ph.D Advisor Mack
Department of Botany, University of
Florida
511 Bartram Hall, P.O. Box 118526
Gainesville, FL 32611- U.S.A.
I am interested in the ecology of locally developed agricultural systems. For my PhD project, I will be studying swidden-fallow cultivation in the lowland Peruvian Amazon. I plan to examine the effects of changes in these plant communities on nutrient cycling.
H-M
Xavier Haro - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
James (Mike) Heaney - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Yan He - Ph.D. Advisor Harmon
Catlin Hicks - Ph.D. Advisor Schuur
Gretchen Ionta - Ph.D. Advisor Judd
Department
of Botany, University of Florida,
220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-8526
352-392-1721 ext. 211
email:
gionta@ufl.edu
Research Interests: Angiosperm phylogenetics. Systematics &
molecular evolution of the Periplocoideae (Apocynaceae).
Jin Koh - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
421
Bartram Hall, Dept. of Botany,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
My research involves in the functional genomics, comparative genomics
through population genetics. My current main issue is genetic
differentiation between diploid parents and allopolyploids of
Tragopogon. Tragopogon as a great model for population genetics is
famous for magic triangle model in population genetics. I believe
Tragopogon, natural polyploid system, is going to be an important
bridge for interpretation of evolution and different complexities of
speciation.
Maribeth Latvis - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Hanna Lee - Ph.D. Advisor Schuur
Ecosystem
Ecology Laboratory,
Botany Department, University of Florida
511 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611
Tel: 352-392-2159
email: hannalee
@ufl.edu
I started my PhD. in Fall 2004 under the supervision of Dr. Ted Schuur.
I a m interested in the changes of carbon balance according to t
he disturbances in the ecosystems. My research site is at
Healy, Alaska. It is a subarctic tundra ecosystem that has
been observed some changes in the landscape due to thawing of
permafrost . Soils in high latitude ecosystems that are
frozen for more than two years are called permafrost soil .
When permafrost soil thaws, dynamic changes happen in the ecosystem,
such as changes of CO 2 levels, vegetation, and
microtopography. I am interested in the thawing of permafrost
and how this affects carbon balance, changes in the vegetation and
conclusively how changes in the ecosystem affects global climate
change. More: Schuur
lab , Personal
website.
Lucas C. Majure- Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Jordan R. Mayor - Ph.D. Advisor Schuur
Botany
Department, University of Florida;
512 Carr Hall , Gainesville, FL 32611;
email:
jmayor@ufl.edu
I began working in the Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory in Fall 2005 following the completion of my Master's in Biology from Humboldt State University with Dr. T.W. Henkel. This work was focused on the influence of ectomycorrhizal fungi on leaf litter decomposition as well as the documentation of an ENSO triggered mast-fruiting event within a ectomycorrhizal rainforest dominated by Dicymbe corymbosa in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana.
I am currently using nitrogen and carbon stable isotope natural abundance to discern the trophic status of fungi and to quantify nutrient cycling pathways in ectomycorrhizal forests from both tropical and boreal ecosystems. As part of my involvement in developing the new field of ecosystem mycology my interests include soil-fungi-plant elemental cycling, below-ground carbon allocation, and decomposition processes.
Paula Mejia - M.S. Advisor Dilcher
Paleobotany Laboratory , Botany
Department, University of Florida, 210 Dickinson Hall, FLMNH,
Gainesville, FL 32611; (352) 392 1721 Ext 250
e-mail:
paumejia@ufl.edu
I am interested in the evolutionary patterns followed by angiosperms
and other groups during the early angiosperm radiation in the Lower
Cretaceous tropical latitudes. My master's project is focused
in the fossil record of Lower Cretaceous palynomorphs in Colombia with
main emphasis in the abundance and diversity of angiosperm pollen
grains and how these variables changed in other paleolatitudes.
Vincent Medjibe - Ph.D. Advisor Putz/Kitajima
Nichalos Miles - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Courney Morris - Ph.D. Advisor Harmon
Skya Murphy - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
Botany Department, University
of Florida,
Tel.: 786-683-6071
Skya Rose Murphy has a master's degree in environmental science from
Florida International University . Skya's research interests include
community ecology of tropical forests; biodiversity tradeoffs in
managed forests; non-timber forest products; sustainable timber
production, and traditional ecological knowledge.
N-Z
Kurt Maximillian Neubig - Ph.D. Advisor Williams
385B
Dickinson Hall,
Florida Museum of Natural History,
Gainesville, Florida 32611
Tel: 352-392-1721 ext 210
email:
kneubig@flmnh.ufl.edu
My interests include the taxonomy of the Orchidaceae and everything
else. As an undergraduate at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I
worked briefly on the Astereae (Asteraceae) of the western US with
Lowell Urbatsch and Roland Roberts. My master's thesis was on
the molecular systematics of the genus Dichaea
(Zygopetalinae) under the tutelage of the great and powerful Norris Williams,
the slightly less powerful Mark Whitten, and the enthusiastic Walter Judd.
Dissertation topics are currently being negotiated and will almost
certainly lead to an amazing Ph.D. project that will eventually make me
rich and famous.
Danielle Palow - Ph.D. Advisor Kitajima
Botany Department
University of Florida
512 Carr Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-1468;
email:
dpalow@ufl.edu.
I am interested in tropical seedling ecophysiology.
M. Camila Pizano - Ph.D. Advisor Kitajima
University
of Florida , Department of Botany,
email:
pizanoc@ufl.edu
I am an ecologist interested in understanding how tropical forests
work, and in finding ways to maintain species richness in managed
forests. My past research focused on elucidating the
mechanisms allowing habitat partitioning between two morphospecies of
the pioneer tropical tree Trema micrantha in
Panama. Now I want to explore tropical agroecosystems that maintain
high diversity levels like coffee and cacao plantations.
Jenny Schafer - Ph.D. Advisor Mack
Botany
Department, University of Florida
511 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611
Tel: 352-392-2159
e-mail:
jschafer@ufl.edu
My research interests center upon
understanding nutrient cycling and how plants partition and acquire
nitrogen. I am investigating the effects of time since fire
on soil nutrient availability, plant nutrient concentrations, and
natural abundance of 15 N in plants and soil in Florida scrub
ecosystems. I am also interested in root uptake kinetics and
the role of mycorrhizae in nutrient acquisition. In addition,
I am studying the effects of time since fire and microhabitat on the
demography of Paronychia chartacea ssp. chartacea
, a federally threatened species.
Laura Schreeg - Ph.D. Advisor Mack
Botany Department, University
of Florida
51o Carr Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611
e-mail:
schreeg@ufl.edu
I am an ecologist and I research how
nutrients
cycle in tropical systems. I am interested how plants mediate the
cycling of limiting nutrients and how nutrient cycles change with land
conversion. Understanding how nutrients move in mature forests can have
important implications for improving agricultural practices and
predicting how secondary forests will regenerate on abandoned land. I
also have a broad interest in conservation and development.
Claudia Segovia - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Stein Servick - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Drew Silver - Ph.D. Advisor Putz
Martijn Slot - Ph.D. Advisor Kitajima
Christian Trucco - M.S. Advisor Schuur
Erica Van Etten - M.S. Advisor Kitajima
Email: ericav@ufl.edu
Campus Address: 512 Carr Hall
Department of Botany
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8526
I am working in the Ecuadorian Amazon with indigenous communities that
are reforesting abandoned pastures with tree species that have not
naturally regenerated. Often these species are large-seeded,
mid-canopy trees whose natural dispersers (monkeys, large birds) are
locally extinct, and whose seeds will not persist in the soil more than
one season. My research interests include the use of nurse
shrubs
in pastures to facilitate tree seedling establishment, and the
development of large-scale reforestation methods (ex. direct seeding)
of dispersal-limited tropical species. Recovery of
dispersal-limited forest species also supports the cultural retention
of traditional ecological knowledge. My work is built around
the
combination of scientific and traditional biological knowledge to
collectively solve ecological problems.
Joseph W. Veldman - PH.D. Advisor Putz
Joseph W. Veldman,
Ph.D. Candidate
Email: veldman@ufl.edu
Campus Address: Department of Botany,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8526
I am plant ecologist studying forest conversion to savanna in eastern lowland Bolivia. My research seeks to explain regional patterns of forest replacement by savanna by linking grass species functional characteristics and savanna floristic compositions to savanna biophysical conditions and human land-use. My dissertation work expands on studies I have been conducting in collaboration with the Bolivian Institute of Forestry Research (IBIF) on grass invasions and forest fires in selectively logged tropical dry forest. My graduate advisor is Professor F. E. Putz. You may also visit my website for more about my research, background, and current contact information.
Rodrigo Vergara - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
Soltis Lab ,
301B Dickinson Hall,
University of Florida, Gianesville, FL 32611
Tel: 352-392-1721 ext. 230
Email: rodver@ufl.edu
I am interested in population genetics of species from the South
American Temperate Rain Forest including genus Nothofagus and
Fitzroya. My idea is to relate information about the genetic
variation within and among populations with natural history,
conservation genetics and tree improvement, including neutral and
adaptive traits.
Emily Wang - Ph.D. Advisor Hauser
Jared Westbrook - Ph.D. Advisor Kitajima
Mi-Jeong Yoo - Ph.D. Advisor Soltis
421
Bartram Hall, Dept. of Botany,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
I am interested in floral developmental genetics and evolution in Nymphaeales. Nymphaeales, water lilies, is the basal angiosperm and shows the variety of morphological variations in flowers. Because most of the work in this field is focused on the model plants, such as Arabidopsis, Petunia, and rice, my research will be helpful for understanding the mechanism of the floral development in the basal angiosperms.
Xiaoguo Zhang - Ph.D. Advisor Oppenheimer
Dept. of Botany, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611
I work in the plant molecular genetics laboratory under the supervision of Dr. David G. Oppenheimer. My focus is on how plant cell shapes are regulated by cytoskeleton. Arabidopsis trichomes are my favorites.
Yuan Zhou - Ph.D. Advisor Hauser
MengMeng Zhu - Ph.D. Advisor Chen
Have
a Question? Contact us.
Last Updated 6/28/05
Site maintenance and Feedback
lauffer@Botany.UFL.EDU
