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The Sullivan lab uses quantitative (both statistical and mathematical) tools to understand plant movement ecology. We are broadly interested in how different global change factors like, habitat fragmentation, nutrient loading, and alterations to global herbivore communities influence plant reproduction and dispersal, and the subsequent consequences of this movement for population and community dynamics. We are especially interested in how this movement influences conservation and restoration ecology. Our research focuses on combining field experiments with theoretical models to develop general understanding about the causes and consequences of dispersal, using statistically rigorous experimental results to create assumptions for general theoretical models that can be scaled in time and space.
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LAB UPDATES
June 2024: Josefa joins the lab as a new grad student. Welcome Josefa!
May 2024: Kate graduates and starts a job with Midwest Natural Resources. Feb 2024: Kate gives the EEB Notable Dissertation Lecture. Great work Kate! Jan 2024: Ethan receives funding from Nachusa Grasslands to conduct research on how bison structure plant communities across the range of the tallgrass prairie. September 2023: Laís and Ashish joined the lab! Welcome!! |
Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in the Sullivan Lab
In our lab, we actively practice antiracist behavior, and strive to make our environment inclusive and equitable for Black, Indigenous, LatinX, and other people of color. To this end, we: 1) continually engage in educating ourselves on issues of racism in the United States and other countries, and in STEM fields in particular, 2) dedicate time toward antiracist action in our lab, in the Department of Plant Biology, Kellogg Biological Station, and MSU as a whole, 3) speak out against racism when we see it, 4) create an inclusive environment in our classrooms, 5) actively recruit minoritized students to join the lab, 6) take an individual approach to mentoring, in order to help students, postdocs, and other lab members to see improvements in their scientific abilities given where they came from, and 7) prioritize the mental health and emotional needs of all lab members over productivity, as good science happens when people feel centered, included, and happy.
#BlackLivesMatter
#BlackLivesMatter