microbially-mediated plant invasion in the galapagos
The Galapagos is home to iconic animals including Darwin's Finches, tortoises, and land iguanas. These animals depend on the native plant community. The symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi we study in my lab drive plant community composition. We want to understand how interactions between these fungi living in plant roots and plant pathogens mediated plant structure in the original plant colonization of the Galapagos Islands. Then, we want to look at how the composition of these microbes changed with anthropogenic (human- caused) plant invasion. Ultimately, our goal is to be able to inform conservation of the native flora of the Galapagos Island Archipelago. If we succeed in maintaining native plant communities, we succeed in conserving the habitat native animals rely on. This project is in collaboration with La Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas (Jessica Duchicela), the Charles Darwin Station, and Machalilla National Park in Ecuador and work includes undergraduate students as part of our team (see below).
The team setting up the new lab space! Left to right: María-José Llamuca, Jessica Duchicela, Camille Delavaux, José Hernández
José Hernández
Jose is an undergraduate student at the Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE in the department of Life Sciences in the Biotechnology Engineering track. Currently, he is working on his thesis project “Comparison of the rhizosphere microbial communities in cocoa (Theobroma cacao) crops cultivated with organic or conventional management” as part of this larger project. As a Ecuadorian student he is aware that Galapagos islands are a biodiversity hotspot and is it important to conserve their integrity and biodiversity. By being part of this work he will try to contribute to preserving these islands. He will also learn new skills to implement similar works in other sites that are in danger by focusing his attention on soil microorganisms and their interactions with the environment. |
María José Llamuca
María José is an undergraduate student at the Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE in the department of Life Sciences in the Biotechnology Engineering track. Currently, she is working on her thesis project “Comparison of rhizosphere microbiota of Guava (Psidium guajava) in cultivated crops and in the wild”. As an Ecuadorian student, she is conscious of the importance of conservation, preservation and restoration of the biodiversity of the Galapagos Islands. She will contribute by learning and developing new skills to complete work focused on studying the community of plants that depend on interactions with microbes. These interactions have improved restoration of native plants in mainland systems and are likely of great importance to the flora of the Galapagos. |
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Thank you to OMNI Inc. for donating a homogenizer for our research!
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