Matt Lavin
Research Interests
My research interests center on the study of plant biodiversity. I study biodiverse plant families such as legumes and grasses, as well as vegetation types that harbor high levels of plant biodiversity. I use phylogenetic approaches, including community phylogenetics, to identify climatic and other abiotic variable that most strongly influence patterns of biodiversity. This involves the study of phylogenetic niche conservatism and dispersal limitation. Biomes or metacommunities that I find particularly intriguing are those with a pronounced precipitation seasonality. These include seasonally dry tropical forests and woodlands distributed mainly in the Americas and Africa and the sagebrush steppe of western North America. These highly seasonal environments harbor plant species that are well-adapted to limited and irregular growing seasons. Such drought adapted species are unlikely to be replaced by immigrants especially those that are poorly adapted to drought or that immigrate during drought periods. This renders highly seasonal vegetation dispersal limited from a plant perspective.
Teaching Interests
I teach in the area of evolutionary biology with a focus on how biological history is understood mainly through genetic evidence. I also teaching courses with a focus on plant biodiversity, including the ecological variables that shape patterns of plant biodiversity. In these regards, I teach the senior-level courses Agrostology (AGSC 454), Evolution (BIOB 420), and Plant Systematics (BIOO 435).
