E-mail: udovic@uoregon.edu
Tel: (541)-346-5092
Fax: (541)-346-2364
Office: 4th Floor -- Onyx Bridge
Address:
Center
for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
5289 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5289
**Prospective students: Please note that I am no longer taking on students or serving on student committees.**
Ecological Research: An important area of research in evolutionary ecology is to decipher the detailed manner in which interacting populations influence each other’s fitness (and consequently their evolutionary trajectories). My work focuses on plant-pollinator mutualisms (interactions in which individuals in both populations potentially benefit), and multiple-species interactions in which some of the pair-wise interactions are mutualistic.
Current research focuses on Hesperoyucca whipplei (formerly Yucca whipplei) and its highly specialized floral associates. The sole pollinator is the specialist yucca moth, Tegeticula maculata, which also acts as a seed predator. Anthoneus agavensis, a sap beetle whose larvae destroy developing flower buds, is another specialist. In addition, there are several other species (beetles and moths that are also fairly specialized) that act as seed predators. A long-term goal of our lab is to develop a framework for understanding how these species influence each other’s population dynamics and evolution.
In collaboration with Judith Bronstein (University of Arizona), I am also studying the response of Hesperoyucca whipplei and its pollinator Tegeticula maculata to fire. These studies take advantage of recent fires in southern California in the fall of 2003 that burned one of our long-term field sites. Comparing flowering and pollination data pre-and post-burn and with data from an unburned site is providing insights into the sensitivity, resilience and re-establishment of a highly specialized obligate mutualism after a major disturbance.
Other Projects: For the last few years, including 2.5 years as an NSF Program Officer in the Division of Undergraduate Education, I have been involved in various projects related to undergraduate science education policy and practice. I served on the AAAS Steering Committee for a recent conference on the future of undergraduate biology education. The conference was held July 15-17, 2009, in Washington, D.C.