Christa P. H. Mulder

Associate Professor, Plant Ecology

Department of Biology and Wildlife and Institute of Arctic Biology

University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA

Email: ffcpm2@uaf.edu; Tel: +1 (907) 474 7152; Fax: +1 (907) 474 6769

Office: 410A Irving I

Research interests

RASP (Rats and Seabirds Project)

SEAPRE (Seabird Islands and Introduced predators) network

Cold Sick Plants

Teaching interests

Members of the Mulder lab

Publications

Education:

· University of Alaska - Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Ph.D. in Ecology, December 1996

· Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. M.Sc. in Biology, 1991

· Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, USA. B.A., High Honors in Biology, 1988

Professional experience:

· Associate Professor, Institute of Arctic Biology and Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S.A. (June 2006- present).

· Assistant Professor, Institute of Arctic Biology and Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S.A. (Jan. 2001-June 2006).

· Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (Feb. 1998 – Dec. 2000).

· Post-doctoral fellow, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden , 1996-1998.

Research Interests:

My main research interests fall into two main areas. I usually combine fieldwork with laboratory experiments and some modeling.

1) Plant-animal interactions.

This includes direct effects of animals on plants (e.g. vertebrate and invertebrate herbivory, physical damage such as trampling), indirect effects (such as changes in nutrient availability) and subsequent changes in plant interspecific interactions. There are currently two large, multi-person projects in the area of plant-animal interactions in my lab:

· RASP (Rats and Islands Project). This project, run in collaboration with Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research and Department of Conservation (both of New Zealand) concerns the effects of rats on vegetation and soils, both directly (e.g. through changes in seed or seedling consumption) and indirectly (by reducing or eradicating seabird populations). We are comparing approximately 21 islands with different rat invasion histories. To find out more about this project (and see some pretty pictures), click here.

· SEAPRE (Seabird Islands and Introduced Predators: Impacts of Presence and Eradication on Island Function): I am the Principal Coordinator of this Research Coordination Network, which aims to bring together people from across the world for cross-system comparisons and synthesis of the impacts of seabirds and introduced seabird predators on island ecology, with the further aim of improving restoration plans for islands on which these introduced predators have been or are being eradicated. If you work on seabird islands and are interested in joining the network, please click here for more information or contact me or Wendy Anderson (wanderso@drury.edu), the Co-Coordinator, directly.

· The Cold Sick Plant project. This is a joint venture between my lab and that of Bitty Roy (U. of Oregon). We are investigating changes in attack rates by plant herbivores and pathogens in the Interior Alaska in the face of climate change. We are focusing on understory species of the boreal forest, as this is a vegetation type that is experiencing considerable changes in temperature and moisture regimes, and because small species are relatively easy to manipulate. To find out more about this project, click here [this link will become active soon!]

Past research in plant-animal interactions:

· I have worked extensively in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. For my M.Sc. research I looked at the effects of muskox grazing on a legume (Oxytropis viscida) (Mulder and Harmsen 1995). For my Ph.D. I looked at the effects of Pacific Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) on arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris) (Mulder et al. 1996, 1998 a,b, 2001). These systems lend themselves particularly well to such studies because of their relative simplicity (low species diversity, short growth season, and few major herbivores).

· The RASP project (see above) was inspired by a short study I did in 1999, when I at how fairy prions (Pachyptila turtur) and tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus, an ancient reptile) affected seed germination, seedling growth, and diversity of native plants on Stephens Island, a small island in Cook Strait of high conservation interest (see Mulder and Keall 2001 below).

2) Relationships between species richness and ecosystem processes.

I first became interested in relationships between species diversity and ecosystem functioning during a postdoc on a large European project called BIODEPTH (Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Processes in Terrestrial Herbaceous Ecosystems). The experiments tested the notion that ecosystem processes (physical and chemical processes within systems) change in some predictable fashion with plant diversity in grassland communities by performing the same experiment in eight different countries.

In this project I also asked whether the presence of invertebrates changes the relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem processes. It appears that the presence of insects can change modify this relationship: in our case, productivity increased with increased diversity much faster in plots with reduced insects compared to untreated plots (see Mulder et al. 1999 below).

While in New Zealand we used bryophyte communities to test whether relationships between species richness and ecosystem processes change under disturbance, and, if so, why. Bryophyte communities often have very high diversity at a very small scale. To find out more about that project, click here. [this link will become active soon!]

Teaching Interests:

At UAF I currently teach four courses:

1) Introduction to Plant Biology (Biol. 239 most recent syllabus). This is a general plant course that includes topics like plant morphology, diversity, plant-animal interactions, and plant conservation.

2) Community Ecology (Biol. 472 most recent syllabus),. This course consists of a mix of lectures, discussions of primary literature, computer exercises, and independent research projects in community ecology.

3) Community Structure and Ecosystem Function (Biol. 694-03 most recent syllabus). This is a graduate-level seminar style course focusing on the interface between community ecology and ecosystem ecology.

4) Fundamentals of Biology II (Biol. 116, previously Biol. 105). I teach the ecology and plant diversity sections of this introductory sequence.

At Victoria University of Wellington I taught parts of an introductory ecology lecture course, an introductory ecology field course, an upper-level plant ecology course, an upper level conservation course, and a graduate-level plant ecology course.

Other members of the Mulder lab:

Current graduate students:.

• Mel Durrett, Ph.D. student on RASP Project: Spatial and temporal variation in nutrient inputs by seabirds on offshore New Zealand islands.
• Nikki Grant, Ph.D. student on RASP Project: Impacts of rats and seabirds on seed and seedling dynamics on offshore New Zealand islands.
• Jennifer Rohrs-Richey, PhD. student on the Cold Sick Plant project: effects of pathogens on plant water relations in alder (Alnus viridis var. fruticosa)
• James Walton, M.S. student. Project: Diversity of bryophyte species in Denali National Park & Preserve

Member of the following graduate student committees:

Kendra Calhoun (M.S. Biology – Ruess lab)

Adelia Falk (Ph.D. Biology – Barboza lab)

Ian Herriott (M.S. Biology – L. Taylor lab)

Ina Timling (Ph.D. Biology – L. Taylor lab)

Chris Babcock (Ph.D. Biology – Ruess lab)

Mike Anderson (Ph.D. Biology – Ruess lab)

Past graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting researchers:

At UAF:

· Jennifer Rohrs, M.S. (2004).

· Joni Reese, M.S. (2006)

· Katie Villano, M.S. (2008) Project: Susceptibility of post-fire boreal forest successional stages to invasive plant species

· Sonja Wipf, visiting researcher (Ph.D., U. of Zuerich, Switzerland)

· Christian Rixen, postdoctoral fellow. Project Mountain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: testing the insurance hypothesis.

At Victoria University of Wellington : S. Mahat., M. Con. Sci. (Dec. 2000), D. Hodson, B.Sc. Hon. (Nov. 1999), and K. Stokes, B.Sc. Hon (Nov. 1999).

Publications:

Note: downloading pdf’s for any reason other than personal use in research or education is a violation of copyright.

· Wardle, D.A., Bellingham, P.J., Bonner, K.I., and Mulder, C.P.H. Indirect effects of invasive predators on plant litter quality, decomposition, and nutrient resorption on seabird-dominated islands. Ecology, in press.

· Mulder, C.P.H., B. Roy, and S. Güsewell. 2008. Herbivores and pathogens on Alnus viridis subsp. fruticosa in Interior Alaska: I. Effects of leaf, tree, and neighbor characteristics on damage levels. Botany (formerly Canadian Journal of Botany) 86: 408-421.

· Hector, A., J. Joshi, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, B. Schmid, E.M. Spehn, L. Wacker, M. Weilenmann, E. Bazeley-White, C. Beierkuhnlein, M.C. Calderia, P.G. Dimitrakopoulos, J.A. Finn, K. Huss-Danell, A. Jumpponen, P.W. Leadley, M. Loreau, C.P.H. Mulder, C. Neßhöver, C. Palmborg, D.J. Read, A.S.D. Siamantziouras, A.C. Terry, and A.Y. Troumbis. 2007. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: reconciling the results of experimental and observational studies. Functional Ecology, in press.

· Wardle, D.A., Bellingham, P.J., Fukami, T., and Mulder, C.P.H. 2007. Promotion of ecosystem carbon sequestration by invasive predators. Biology Letters 3: 479-482.

· Rohrs-Richey, J. K., and C.P.H. Mulder. 2007. Effects of local changes in active layer and soil climate on seasonal foliar nitrogen concentrations of three boreal forest shrubs. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 37: 383-394.

· Fukami, T., D. A. Wardle, P. J. Bellingham, C.P.H. Mulder, D.R. Towns, G.W. Yeates, K. I. Bonner, M.S. Durrett, M.N.Grant-Hoffman and W.M. Williamson. 2006. Above- and below-ground impacts of introduced predators on seabird-dominated islands. Ecology Letters 9: 1299-1307.

· Wipf, S, C. Rixen, and C.P.H. Mulder. 2006 Advanced snowmelt causes shift towards positive neighbour interactions in a subarctic tundra community . Global Change Biology 12: 1496-1506.

· Rixen, C., and C.P.H. Mulder. 2005. Improved water retention links high species richness with increased productivity in arctic tundra moss communities. Oecologia 146 (2): 287-199.

· Jumpponen, A., C.P.H. Mulder, K. Huss-Danell, and P. Högberg. 2005. Winners and losers in herbaceous plant communities: insights from foliar carbon isotope composition in monocultures and mixtures. Journal of Ecology 96(3): 1136-1147.

· E. M. Spehn, A. Hector, J. Joshi, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, B. Schmid, E. Bazeley-White, C. Beierkuhnlein, M. C. Caldeira, M. Diemer, P. G. Dimitrakopoulos, J.A. Finn, H. Freitas, P. S. Giller, J. Good, R. Harris, P. Högberg, K. Huss-Danell, A. Jumpponen, J. Koricheva, P. W. Leadley, M. Loreau, A. Minns, C. P. H. Mulder, G. O'Donovan, S. J. Otway, C. Palmborg, J. S. Pereira, A. B. Pfisterer, A. Prinz, D. J. Read, E-D. Schulze, A-S. D. Siamantziouras, A. C. Terry, A. Y. Troumbis, F. I. Woodward, S. Yachi, J. H. Lawton. 2005. Ecosystem effects of biodiversity manipulations in European grasslands. Ecological Monographs 75(1): 37-63.

· Mulder, CPH., E. Bazeley-White, P.G. Dimitrakopoulos, A. Hector, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, B. Schmid. 2004. Species evenness and productivity in experimental plant communities. Oikos 107:50-63.

· Armbruster, W.S., C. Pélabon, T.F. Hansen and C.P.H. Mulder. 2004. Floral integration, modularity, and accuracy. In: Pigliucci, M. and Preston, K (eds.), Phenotypic Integration: Studying the Ecology of Complex Phenotypes. Oxford University Press.

· Mulder, C.P.H., A. Jumpponen, P. Högberg, and K. Huss-Danell. 2002. How species richness and legumes affect nitrogen dynamics in experimental grassland communities. Oecologia 133: 412-421.

· Jumpponen, A., P. Högberg, K. Huss-Danell and C.P.H. Mulder. 2002. Plants in mixed grassland communities express a plastic niche separation in nitrogen acquisition depth. Functional Ecology, 16: 454-461.

· Drake, D.R., C.P.H. Mulder, D.R. Towns, and C.H. Daugherty. 2002. The biology of insularity: an introduction. Journal of Biogeography 29: 563-569.

· Armbruster, W.S., C.P.H. Mulder, B.G. Baldwin, S. Kalisz, B. Wessa, and H. Nute. 2002. Comparative analysis of late floral development and mating-system evolution in tribe Collinsieae (Scrophylariaceae s.l.). American Journal of Botany 89(1): 37-49.

· Mulder, C.P.H., D.D. Uliassi, and D.F. Doak. 2001. Physical stress and diversity-productivity relationships: the role of positive interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98(12): 6704-6708.

· Mulder, C.P.H., and R.W. Ruess. 2001. Long-term effects of changes in goose grazing intensity on arrowgrass populations: a spatially explicit model. Journal of Ecology 89: 406-417.

· Mulder, C.P.H. and S.N. Keall. 2001. Burrowing seabirds and reptiles: impacts on seeds, seedlings and soils in an island forest in New Zealand. Oecologia 127: 350-360.

· Joshi, J., B. Schmid, M.C. Caldeira, P.G. Dimitrakopoulis, J. Good, R. Harris, A. Hector, K. Huss-Danell, A. Jumpponen, A. Minns, C.P.H. Mulder, J.S. Pereira, A. Prinz, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, A.S.D. Siamantziouras, A.C. Terry, A.Y. Troumbis, and J.H. Lawton. 2001. Local adaptation enhances performance of common plant species. Ecology Letters 4: 1-9.

· Hector, A., Schmid, B., Beierkuhnlein, C., Caldeira, M.C., Diemer, M., Dimitrakopoulos, P.G., Finn, J., Freitas, H., Giller, P.S., Good, J., Harris, R., Högberg, P., Huss-Danell, K., Joshi, J., Jumpponen, A., Körner, C., Leadley, P.W., Loreau, M., Minns, A., Mulder, C.P.H., O'Donovan, G., Otway, S.J., Pereira, J.S., Prinz, A., Read, D.J., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schulze, E.-D., Siamantziouras, A.-S.D., Spehn, E.M., Terry, A.C., Troumbis, A.Y., Woodward, F.I., Yachi, S. & Lawton, J.H. (2001). Biodiversity and the functioning of grassland ecosystems: Multisite studies. In: Functional Consequences of Biodiversity: Experimental Progress and Theoretical Extensions (eds. A. Kinzig, D. Tilman, & S. Pacala). Princeton University Press, Princeton.

· Hector, A., Schmid, B., Beierkuhnlein, C., Caldeira, M.C., Diemer, M., Dimitrakopoulos, P.G., Finn, J., Freitas, H., Giller, P.S., Good, J., Harris, R., Högberg, P., Huss-Danell, K., Joshi, J., Jumpponen, A., Körner, C., Leadley, P.W., Loreau, M., Minns, A., Mulder, C.P.H., O'Donovan, G., Otway, S.J., Pereira, J.S., Prinz, A., Read, D.J., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schulze, E.-D., Siamantziouras, A.-S.D., Spehn, E.M., Terry, A.C., Troumbis, A.Y., Woodward, F.I., Yachi, S. & Lawton, J.H. 2000. No consistent effect of plant diversity on productivity - Response. Science, 289, 1255a.

· Koricheva, J., C.P.H. Mulder, B. Schmid, J. Joshi and K. Huss-Danell. 2000. Numerical responses of different trophic groups of invertebrates to manipulations of plant diversity in grasslands. Oecologia 125:271-282.

· Hector, A., B. Schmid, C. Beierkuhnlein, M.C. Caldeira, M. Diemer, P.G. Dimitrakopoulos, J. Finn, H. Freitas, P.S. Giller, J. Good, R. Harris, P. Högberg, K. Huss-Danell, J. Joshi, A. Jumpponen, C. Körner, P.W. Leadley, M. Loreau, A. Minns, C.P.H. Mulder, G. O’Donovan, S.J. Otway, J.S. Pereira, A. Prinz, D.J. Read, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, E.-D. Schulze, A-S.D. Siamantziouras, E. Spehn, A.C. Terry, A.Y.Troumbis, F.I. Woodward, S. Yachi, J.H. Lawton. 1999. Plant diversity and productivity in European grasslands. Science 286: 1223-1127.

· Mulder, C.P.H. 1999. Vertebrate herbivores and plants in the Arctic and subarctic: effects on individuals, communities and ecosystems. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2(1): 29-55.

· Mulder, C.P.H., J. Koricheva, K. Huss-Danell, P. Högberg, and J. Joshi. 1999. Insects affect relationships between plant species richness and ecosystem processes. Ecology Letters 2: 237-246.

· Mulder, C.P.H., and R.W. Ruess. 1998b. Relationships between size, biomass allocation, reproduction and survival in Triglochin palustris: implications for the effects of goose herbivory. Canadian Journal of Botany 76:2164-2176

· Mulder, C.P.H., and R.W. Ruess. 1998a. Effects of herbivory on arrowgrass: interactions between geese, neighboring plants, and abiotic factors. Ecological Monographs 68(2): 275-293.

· Ruess, R.W., D.D. Uliassi, C.P.H. Mulder, and B.T. Person. 1997. Growth responses of Carex ramenskii to variations in grazing, salinity and nitrogen availability: Implications for geese ecosystem dynamics in western Alaska. EcoScience 4 (2): 170-178.

· Mulder, C.P.H, R.W. Ruess, and J.S. Sedinger. 1996. Effects of environmental manipulations on Triglochin palustris: implications for the role of goose herbivory in controlling its distribution. Journal of Ecology 84(2): 267-278.

· Mulder, C.P.H., and R. Harmsen. 1995. The effect of muskox herbivory on growth and reproduction in an arctic legume. Arctic and Alpine Research 27: 44-53.

Manuscripts submitted:

· Mulder, C.P.H., M.N. Grant-Hoffman, D. Towns, P. Bellingham, M. Durrett, D. Wardle, and T. Fukami Direct and indirect effects of rats: will their eradication restore functioning of New Zealand seabird islands? (In revision, Biological Invasions)

· Towns, D.R., D.A. Wardle, C.P.H. Mulder, G.W. Yeates, B.M. Fitzgerald, G.R. Parrish, P.J. Bellingham, and K.I. Bonner. Predation of seabirds by invasive rats: multiple indirect consequences for invertebrate communities (submitted)

· Rixen, C., and C.P.H. Mulder. Interactive effects of species removal and experimental warming on a subarctic turndra plant community.

Professional service:

Guest editor, special issue of Journal of Biogeography on “Ecology of Insular Biotas” following from a conference of the same name held in Wellington, New Zealand in February of 2001 (organized by C. Mulder, D. Drake and C. Daugherty).

Reviewer for: American Naturalist, Canadian Journal of Botany, Ecology, Ecology Letters, Functional Ecology, Global Change Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal of Biogeography, Journal of Ecology, Oecologia, Oikos, New Zealand Journal of Botany, Wetlands.

National Science Foundation panel member (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008).

Grants

2006 National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network: “SEAPRE: Seabird Islands and Introduced Predators: Impacts of Presence and Eradication on Island Function”

2006 Center for Invasive Plant Management: “Assessing wildfire burn susceptibility to invasive plant colonization in black spruce forests of interior Alaska”. (PI; with K. Villano and T. Hollingsworth).

2003 NSF: “Rats on islands: direct and indirect effects on plant communities”.

2003 Western Regional Center (WESTGEC) of the National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC): Will global warming alter plant parasite loads in the boreal

understory?" (with B. Roy)

2002 Marsden Foundation (New Zealand): “Impacts of alien organisms on ecosystem functioning: a test using island ecosystems”

(with D. Wardle, P. Bellingham, D. Towns, G. Yeates and W. Williamson)

1999 Research grant, Victoria University of Wellington (with D. Drake)

1997 Research grant, Oscar and Lilli Lamm Foundation, Sweden

1993 Research Grant, Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, UAF

Scholarships and Awards:

1995 Dissertation Year Fellowship, University of Alaska Fairbanks

1991-1993 Chancellor's Fellowship, UAF

1991-1992 National Science and Engineering Research Council Post-Graduate Scholarship 3 (declined)

1990-1991 National Science and Engineering Research Council Post-Graduate Scholarship 2

1989-1990 Queen's Graduate Fellowship, Queen's University

1988 Dean's Merit Award, University of Michigan

1988 Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

1988 Elected to Bates Key Honors Society, Bates College

1988 Paul Hardy Award, Bates College

1985-1988 Dean's Award, Bates College