John and Dave participated in an international collaborative experiment testing whether biotic interactions are stronger at low compared to high latitudes. The experiment was conducted from the equator to the arctic and from low to high elevation at each latitude. It is the first coordinated experiment involving real organisms to test this idea dating back … Continue reading New paper showing latitudinal and elevational gradients in seed predation from an international collaboration

Ryan, Tom, and Dave published a paper in Scientific Reports on species distribution models for Palmer amaranth, one of the most economically costly invasive species in North America. It has rapidly spread across the continent and devastated agriculture along the way. It only reached Minnesota in 2016 and it's future invasion potential is unknown. In … Continue reading New paper on species distribution models for the invasive plant, Palmer amaranth

Adam Kostanecki, undergraduate researcher in the lab, was chosen to receive the Lake Minnetonka Garden Club scholarship. He was recognized for his "outstanding application, academic record, commitment to your education and community and your career goals in Botany research and public policy" Congrats Adam! (Gratulacje!)

The Moeller Lab, in collaboration with Emma Goldberg (UMN EEB) and Yaniv Brandvain (UMN PMB), received four years of funding ($974,762) to investigate the role of mating system transitions in plant speciation. This new funding continues past work that revealed reproductive character displacement between incipient Clarkia species, and provided evidence of reinforcement in secondary sympatry. … Continue reading NSF Speciation and mating system evolution grant funded

Stephanie gave a seminar and defended her masters thesis titled, "History, dispersal limitation, and environment shape the current and future ranges of forest herbs of the Southern Appalachians". For her thesis, she developed species distribution models for 8 forest herb species, half of which are narrow endemics to the Southern Appalachians. She examined the extent … Continue reading Stephanie successfully defends masters thesis!

Amanda, John, Ryan, and Lauren all gave presentations on their recent research at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in New Orleans this week.

Our project on the evolution of geographic range limits in Clarkia xantiana was just funded for five years from the NSF Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology program (Moeller, PI; Geber, co-PI, Eckhart, co-PI). This work has been ongoing for 13 years and the new funding will result in 18-year datasets on population demography and associated … Continue reading NSF LTREB grant on geographic range limits funded

Amanda's first dissertation chapter was just published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. In this paper, she describes the results of a reciprocal transplant experiment testing for local adaptation to urban vs. rural environments in the Twin Cities. Her paper is part of a special issue on urban adaptation.

Plant & Microbial Biology graduate students presented their research at the graduate program's annual retreat on Friday. John presented an excellent talk on his work on biotic interactions and geographic range limits in Clarkia. Votes were cast after the symposium and John was the winner! Congrats John!

Eric Chu, a former undergraduate researcher in the lab (Summa cum laude with Honors), received the highly selective Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship from the U.S. Department of State. The Pickering Fellowship Program provides graduate students with financial support, mentoring and professional development to prepare them for a career with the U.S. Department of State. Eric will … Continue reading Eric Chu receives prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship!