Nancy Emery

Population biology • Community ecology • Evolutionary biology

I am a plant evolutionary ecologist and PI of the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research Program. My research focuses on understanding the evolutionary processes that shape how organisms respond to ecological change.

Research in my lab works at the nexus of population biology, community ecology, and evolutionary biology to understand how plants adapt and persist in a constantly changing world. Our current research projects are specifically focused on the evolution of dispersal, habitat specialization, and phenotypic plasticity in plants that occupy variable environments. We use field experiments, genetic tools, and comparative methods and work in variety of ecosystems, including vernal pool wetlands of western North America, the sand dunes of the Great Lakes, rock outcrops of the Appalachian Mountains, and eastern deciduous forests. Leveraging the unique strengths of these different natural systems, we strive to develop a general framework for understanding plant ecological and evolutionary responses to environmental variation.

Emery Lab

Education

• PhD (Population Biology): University of California at Davis, 2006
• BS (Biological Sciences): Brown University, 1998.