Investigating traits associated with successful colonization and invasion of exotic plants in tropical rainforest
Brent Mishler, Professor
Integrative Biology
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2023 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2024.
It has been hypothesized that 10% of taxa introduced into novel environments would naturalize, while only about 10% of naturalized alien taxa would become invasive. I am interested in investigating which traits are commonly found in naturalized and invasive plants in Nigeria, West Africa.
Role: The research apprentice will carry out the following tasks:
• Download and compile traits (including ploidy, morphological, reproductive, and other functional traits) of naturalized and invasive plants in West Africa Such data can be accessed on online databases such as BIEN and TRY, among others.
• Compile occurrence records (both in native and invaded ranges) of the naturalized and invasive plants from GBIF and other accessible online databases
• Perform other related tasks which include fitting logistic regression models, random forest, and Cox proportional hazards models (this is not directly related to the invasive and naturalized flora study)
At the end of this project, the research apprentice will be able to fit regression models, work in R statistical software, and depending on their future career plans and contributions to the study, they may be included as a co-author in a conference presentation arising from this study.
Qualifications: Desirable students for this project should have some experience with data management, perform basic computing operations, and communicate effectively. Students from any level in any major are welcome to apply. Students of color or from under-represented groups are preferred, but not required. Students who have experience working in R environment are preferred.
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Biological & Health Sciences Environmental Issues