Research site at KU Field Station

Bever/Schultz Lab

Ecology and Evolution of Plants and Fungi

Grass and flowers

Bever/Schultz Lab

We are interested in testing basic ecological and evolutionary processes occurring within plants and their associated fungi. Much of the conceptual basis of ecology and evolution was developed with animals in mind. Plants and fungi differ from animals in important ways, including their motility, their nutrient acquisition systems and their genetic systems.
Bubbles like organisms

Bever/Schultz Lab

Conceptual frameworks building on these peculiarities can be very useful in exploring the dynamics of populations and communities of plants and fungi. Developing, testing, and exploring the implications of these models has been the goal of our work.