This is a picture
of the lab on a trip to the ESA meetings in New Mexico,
1997. Photo was taken in Valley of the Gods, UT.
Front row, l-r, I. Forseth,
M. Peek, Back row, l-r, K. Gounaris, C. Coon, A.
McElrone.
Research; Members of the Lab; Selected Publications; Teaching
Research Interests:
Plant Physiological Ecology, Plant Population Ecology, Biodiversity, Global Change, Heliotropic Leaf Movement
Research in my laboratory is concentrated on the study of ecological and evolutionary relationships among plant structure, function, and the environment. I am especially interested in photosynthetic responses to global climate change, mechanisms of competition and facilitation among plants, and the relationship between individual plant response and population level response. We are presently involved in a long-term study of the response of plants to spatial patchiness and variation in the amount and timing of precipitation in a semi-desert community in northeastern Utah.
We are examining the water use and carbon gain responses of the perennial plant Cryptantha flava to this variable environment in order to find a mechanistic explanation for the population level responses documented in earlier studies by Dr. Brenda Casper at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Casper has nearly 20 years of data on the demography and population dynamics of this species. This project was supported by the Evolutionary and Ecological Physiology Program of the National Science Foundation.
Examples of current and past graduate student projects in my laboratory
include studies of competition between vines and their tree hosts in eastern
forests; the comparative water relations and photosynthetic responses of
temperate vines; the leaf movement, photosynthetic and water relations
of forest and beach legumes; the response of soybeans to UV-B radiation,
CO2 concentration, and water stress; the effects of
secondary succession on biodiversity in bog habitats; the effect of UV-B
radiation on competitive interactions among plants; the interactions among
pathogens, herbivores and vine hosts; and the metapopulation dynamics of
a rare and endangered tidal wetland plant species.
Forseth, I. N. 1997. Plant Response to Multiple Environmental Stresses: Implications for Climate Change and Biodiversity. pp. 187-196. In. M. L. Reaka-Kudla, D. E. Wilson, E. O. Wilson. (eds) Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting our Biological Resources. Joseph Henry Press, Washington D. C.
Forseth, I. N., D. A. Wait, & B. B. Casper. 2001. Shading by shrubs in a desert system reduces the physiological and demographic performance of an associated herbaceous perennial. Journal of Ecology 89: 670-680. pdf copy
Casper, B. B., I. N. Forseth, H. Kempenich, S. Seltzer, & K. Xavier. 2001. Drought changes leaf demography in Cryptantha flava (Boraginaceae). Functional Ecology 15: 740-747. pdf copy
McElrone, A. J., J. L. Sherald & I. N. Forseth. 2001. Effects of water stress on symptomatology and growth of Parthenocissus quinquefolia infected by Xylella fastidiosa. Plant Disease 85: 1160-1164.
Cotgreave, Peter & Irwin Forseth. 2002. "Introductory Ecology". Blackwell Scientific Ltd., Oxford.
Peek, M. S., E. Russek-Cohen, D. A. Wait & I. N. Forseth. 2002. Physiological response curve analysis using nonlinear mixed models. Oecologia 132: 175-180. pdf copy
Griffith, A. B. & I. N. Forseth. 2002. Primary and secondary seed dispersal of a rare, tidal wetland annual, Aeschynomene virginica. Wetlands 22 (4): 696-704. pdf copy
McElrone, A. J. & I. N. Forseth. 2003. Interactive effects of water stress and xylem-limited bacterial infection on the water relations of a host vine. Journal of Experimental Botany 54 (381): 419-430. pdf copy
Griffith, A. B. & I. N. Forseth. 2003. Establishment and reproduction of Aeschynomene virginica (L.) (Fabaceae) a rare, annual, wetland species in relation to vegetation removal and water level. Plant Ecology 167:117-125.
Peek, M. S. & I. N. Forseth. 2003. Enhancement of photosynthesis and growth of an aridland perennial in response to soil nitrogen pulses generated by mule deer. Environmental and Experimental Botany 49: 169-180. pdf copy
Peek, M. S. & I. N. Forseth. 2003. Microhabitat influences physiology, growth and survival responses to resource pulses in Cryptantha flava. Journal of Ecology 91(3): 457-466. pdf copy
McElrone, A.J. & I.N. Forseth 2004. Photosynthetic responses of a temperature liana to Xylella fastidiosa infection and water stress. Journal of Phytopathology 152: 9-20. pdf copy
Peek, M.S., A.J. McElrone, G. Deitzer & I.N. Forseth (In press) Gas exchange responses of an herbaceous perennial to variable sunlight in contrasting microhabitats. Journal of Arid Environments. pdf copy
Griffith, A.B. & I.N. Forseth (In press) The effects of competition and dispersal on the population dynamics of Aeschynomene virginica (Fabaceae): A population matrix approach. Ecological Applications.
BSCI 361 Principles of Ecology, 3 credits
BSCI 460 Plant Ecology Lecture, 3 credits
BSCI 461 Plant Ecology Laboratory, 2 credits
BIOL 106 Introduction to Biology II, 4 credits
BSCI 701 Teaching Biology, 1 credit