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Gretchen A. Meyer, Manager/Staff Biologist Office: UWM Field Station Phone: (262) 675-6844 email: gmeyer@uwm.edu Degrees: B.S. Tufts University 1979 M.F.S. Yale University 1985 Ph.D. Cornell University 1992 Research Interests: I have broad research interests in the areas of plant-animal interactions and conservation biology. Current projects are described below. Ecology of introduced plants Invasive, exotic plants are currently a major threat to natural areas because they can spread through communities and replace native vegetation. Invasive species are believed to be second only to habitat loss in terms of their impact on native diversity. However, only a minority of introduced species become invasive, and the mechanims that allow some exotic plants to dominate native communities are poorly understood. I am interested in how changes in the interactions between introduced plants and their herbivores, pathogens or mutualists such as pollinators or seed dispersers affect their potential for invasiveness. In one current project, we are testing the evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis. This hypothesis holds that escape from natural enemies allows introduced plants to reduce their investment in defense, thereby freeing resources for growth and reproduction and increasing their ability to compete with other plants. We are working with Solidago gigantea, which is native to North American and an invasive exotic in Europe. Other areas of interest include measuring the impact of exotic plants on native communities, and developing methods to control invasive plants and restore natural areas. Impacts of deer on natural communites White-tailed deer populations are currently at very high densities in Wisconsin, and there is concern about the effects of their feeding on natural areas. We are measuring the effects of deer on vegetation in selected habitats at the Field Station, and developing methods to estimate deer densities. We plan to establish a long-term monitoring program for deer populations at the Field Station. These data will be used to guide the Field Station's management plan for deer and deer impacts. Plants and their insect herbivores I have approached this topic from both the plant perspective and the insect perspective. My more plant-centered research has addressed questions such as: What are the effects of insect feeding on plant growth and reproduction? How do different types of damage influence plant responses? What are the mechanisms that plants use to compensate for herbivore damage? This research is motivated by the observation that some plants are able to regrow readily following herbivore feeding and their performance may equal that of undamaged plants, but the factors that influence how damaging herbivory will be are still poorly understood. My insect-centered research has focused on understanding how environmental factors such as soil fertility influence the abundance and diversity of insect herbivores attacking particular host plants. Herbivorous insects are very responsive to environmentally-induced changes in their host plants, and soil fertility can therefore affect both the type and amount of damage that plants receive. Selected Publications: Meyer, G.A. and Hull-Sanders, H.M. 2008. Altered patterns of growth, physiology and reproduction in invasive genotypes of Solidago gigantea. Biological Invasions 10: 303-317 (DOI: 10.1007/s10530-007-9131-z).(Download pdf) Johnson, R.H., Hull-Sanders, H.M. and Meyer, G.A. 2007. Comparison of foliar terpenes between native and invasive Solidago gigantea. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 35: 821-830. (DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2007.06.005) (Download pdf) Hull-Sanders, H.M., Clare, R., Johnson, R.H. and Meyer, G.A. 2007. Evaluation of the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis: loss of defense against generalist but not specialist herbivores. Journal of Chemical Ecology 33: 781-799 (Download pdf) Meyer, G.A., Clare, R. and Weber, E. 2005. An experimental test of the Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability Hypothesis in goldenrod, Solidago gigantea. Oecologia 144: 299-307 (Download pdf) Weise, C.M., Meyer, G.A. and O'Brien, H. 2004. A long-term survey of the breeding birds of the Cedarburg Bog and Cedarburg Beech Woods State Natural Areas. Passenger Pigeon 66: 101-112( Download pdf) Meyer, GA. 2000. Effects of insect feeding on growth and fitness of goldenrod (Solidago altissima). Recent Research Developments in Entomology 3: 29-41 Meyer, GA. 2000. Interactive effects of soil fertility and herbivory on Brassica nigra. Oikos 88:433-441 Meyer, GA and Witmer, MC. 1998. Influence of seed processing by frugivorous birds on germination success of three North American shrubs. American Midland Naturalist 140:129-139 Meyer, GA. 1998. Mechanisms promoting recovery from defoliation in goldenrod (Solidago altissima). Canadian Journal of Botany 76:450-459 (Download pdf) Meyer, GA. 1998. Pattern of defoliation and its effect on photosynthesis and growth of goldenrod. Functional Ecology 12:270-279 (Download pdf) Meyer, GA. and Root, RB. 1996. Influence of feeding guild on insect response to host plant fertilization. Ecological Entomology 21: 270-278 Meyer, GA. and Root, RB. 1993. Effects of herbivorous insects and soil fertility on reproduction of goldenrod. Ecology 74:1117-1128 Meyer, GA. 1993. A comparison of the impacts of leaf and sap-feeding insects on growth and allocation of goldenrod. Ecology 74:1101-1116 Meyer, GA and Whitlow, TH. 1992. Effects of leaf and sap-feeding insects on photosynthetic rates of goldenrod. Oecologia 92: 480-489 Meyer, GA and Montgomery, ME. 1987. Influence of leaf age on the food quality of cottonwood foliage for the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Oecologia 72:527-532 |
