Jeff Firestone: Difference between revisions

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UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences<br />
UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences<br />


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<b>Phone: (530) 752-8284</b><br />
<b>Phone: (530) 752-8284</b><br />


<b>Email: <A HREF="&#109;&#97;&#105;&#108;&#116;&#111;&#58;
<b>Email: firestone [at] ucdavis.edu</b>
 
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<b>Position:</b>
 
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Graduate Student</td>
 
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<b>Education:</b>
 
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1995-1999:  B.S. Biology & English Literature, University of Michigan
 
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<b>Research Interest:</b>
 
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Allee effects in invasive species, especially pollen / pollinator limitation</td>
 
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<b>Research Summary:</b>
 
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The concept of rarity in weeds or invasives is very lightly studied, perhaps because the idea of a rare weed sounds inherently like an oxymoron.  It is not, however, improbable or even uncommon.  Potential invasive plants, at first introduction, often have only a few propagules establishing.  Similar small founding groups are often involved in range expansions and satellite populations.  Small populations are likely to be all that remains after eradication attempts or at the earliest stage of developing herbicide resistance.  Finally, potentially invasive plants that are not rare, such as in horticulture, may still be affected by rarity.  They can easily be broadly common enough, but functionally rare by growing in garden patches effectively isolated from each other.  It is my contention that what happens during these periods of rareness can influence or determine invasion probability, rate of spread and susceptibility to control.
 
 
 
            My main research uses Lolium multiflorum, both as a model and an interesting weed in its own right.  L. multiflorum, or annual ryegrass, is a common weed of orchards, vineyards and wheat, and found on most roadsides in Yolo County.  It is also a desirable hay, pasture and cover crop species, and the subject of our herbicide resistance studies.  It is wind pollinated and self-incompatible.
 
 
 
            I first located natural, small populations to determine if appear to suffer from decreased reproduction (i.e. Allee effects).  The seeds collected from some of these populations are then the basis for a greenhouse / field experiment.  A series of artificial, 'new invasions' are created, effectively isolated from each other while in similar conditions.  In these created populations, I control the population size and putative genetic diversity independently.  In natural, small populations, it is difficult or impossible to separate out the effect of having few individuals from having few alleles because there are so few individuals to carry them.  This design should suggest the relative importance, in this system, of population size, genetic diversity (e.g. inbreeding), self-incompatibility and unexpected rabbit herbivory on the success of a small population of a plant species known to naturally increase.
 
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{|
{|
|-
|-
!<b>Position:</b>
|<td align="right">|<b>Position:</b>
!Graduate Student
|Graduate Student
|-
|<td align="right">|<b>Education:</b>
|1995-1999:  B.S.  Biology & English Literature, University of Michigan
|-
|-
|<b>Education:</b>
|<td align="right">|<b> Research Interests:</b>
|1995-1999:  B.S. Biology & English Literature, University of Michigan
|∞ Allee effects in invasive species, especially pollen/pollinator limitation
 
∞ Teaching of Ecology and basic science comprehension / communication for undergraduates
|-
|-
|<b>Research Interest:</b>
|<td align="right">|<b>Research Summary:</b>
|Allee effects in invasive species, especially pollen / pollinator limitation
|           My main research uses Lolium multiflorum, both as a model and an interesting weed in its own right.  L. multiflorum, or annual ryegrass, is a common weed of orchards, and wheat, and found on most roadsides in Yolo County.  It is a frequent invasive plant in grasslands, wetlands and vernal pools.  It is also a desirable hay, pasture and cover crop species, and the subject of our herbicide resistance studies. <br>
|-
|-
|<b>Research Summary:</b>
|<td align="right">|
|The concept of rarity in weeds or invasives is very lightly studied, perhaps because the idea of a rare weed sounds inherently like an oxymoron.  It is not, however, improbable or even uncommon.  Potential invasive plants, at first introduction, often have only a few propagules establishing.  Similar small founding groups are often involved in range expansions and satellite populations.  Small populations are likely to be all that remains after eradication attempts or at the earliest stage of developing herbicide resistance.  Finally, potentially invasive plants that are not rare, such as in horticulture, may still be affected by rarity. They can easily be broadly common enough, but functionally rare by growing in garden patches effectively isolated from each other. It is my contention that what happens during these periods of rareness can influence or determine invasion probability, rate of spread and susceptibility to control.
|To discover what happens in small populations, such as new introductions, one cannot simply bring new invasive plants in and watch what happens.  To simulate that event, I created a series of artificial 'new invasions' growing invasive Lolium in experimental patches in an agricultural field.  In these created populations, I control the population size and putative genetic diversity independently.  In natural, small populations, it is difficult or impossible to separate out the effect of having few individuals from having few alleles because there are so few individuals to carry them.  This design should suggest the relative importance, in this system, of population size, genetic diversity (e.g. inbreeding), self-incompatibility and unexpected rabbit herbivory on the success of a small population of a plant species known to naturally increase.
 
In parallel, I am also looking at natural populations of comparable size to validate that they exhibit the same patterns as the experimental ones.
|}
|}

Latest revision as of 13:04, 20 November 2008

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UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
Weed Science Program
University of California
Davis, California 95616

Phone: (530) 752-8284

Email: firestone [at] ucdavis.edu

Position: Graduate Student
Education: 1995-1999: B.S. Biology & English Literature, University of Michigan
Research Interests: ∞ Allee effects in invasive species, especially pollen/pollinator limitation

∞ Teaching of Ecology and basic science comprehension / communication for undergraduates

Research Summary: My main research uses Lolium multiflorum, both as a model and an interesting weed in its own right. L. multiflorum, or annual ryegrass, is a common weed of orchards, and wheat, and found on most roadsides in Yolo County. It is a frequent invasive plant in grasslands, wetlands and vernal pools. It is also a desirable hay, pasture and cover crop species, and the subject of our herbicide resistance studies.
To discover what happens in small populations, such as new introductions, one cannot simply bring new invasive plants in and watch what happens. To simulate that event, I created a series of artificial 'new invasions' growing invasive Lolium in experimental patches in an agricultural field. In these created populations, I control the population size and putative genetic diversity independently. In natural, small populations, it is difficult or impossible to separate out the effect of having few individuals from having few alleles because there are so few individuals to carry them. This design should suggest the relative importance, in this system, of population size, genetic diversity (e.g. inbreeding), self-incompatibility and unexpected rabbit herbivory on the success of a small population of a plant species known to naturally increase.

In parallel, I am also looking at natural populations of comparable size to validate that they exhibit the same patterns as the experimental ones.

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