ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0774-2624
Current Organisation
University of Kansas
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2010
DOI: 10.1890/09-1858.1
Abstract: For microbial symbioses with plants, such as mycorrhizas, we typically quantify either the net effects of one partner on another or a single function a symbiont provides. However, many microbial symbioses provide multiple functions to plants that vary based on the microbial species or functional group, plant species, and environment. Here we quantified the relative contributions of multiple functions provided by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to symbiont-mediated changes in plant biomass. We used two published data sets, one that measured multiple functions (pathogen protection and nutrient uptake) on a single plant and one that measured a single function (pathogen protection) on multiple plants. Using structural equation modeling, we observed strong variation in the functional pathways by which AM fungi altered plant growth changes in plant biomass were associated with different functions (and different AM fungal functional groups) for the different plant species. Utilizing this methodology across multiple partners and environments will allow researchers to gauge the relative importance of functions they isolate and, perhaps more importantly, those they did not consider. This baseline information is essential for establishing the specific mechanisms by which microbial symbioses influence plant ersity and to more effectively utilize these organisms in agriculture, restoration and conservation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2016
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.14077
Abstract: Novel associations between plants and pathogens can have serious impacts on managed and natural ecosystems world‐wide. The introduction of alien plants increases the potential for biogeographically novel plant–pathogen associations to arise when pathogens are transmitted from native to alien plant species and vice versa. We quantified biogeographically novel associations recorded in New Zealand over the last 150 yr between plant pathogens (fungi, oomycetes and plasmodiophorids) and vascular plants. We examined the extent to which taxonomic similarity, pathogen traits, contact opportunity and s ling effort could explain the number of novel associates for host and pathogen species. Novel associations were common approximately one‐third of surveyed plants and pathogens were recorded with at least one biogeographically novel associate. Native plants had more alien pathogens than vice versa. Taxonomic similarity between the native and alien flora and the total number of recorded associations (a measure of s ling effort) best explained the number of novel associates among species. The frequency of novel associations and the importance of s ling effort as an explanatory variable emphasize the need for effective monitoring and risk assessment tools to mitigate the potential environmental and economic impact of novel pathogen associations.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-05-2014
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.12823
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 31-05-2018
No related grants have been discovered for Benjamin Sikes.