Elizabeth Downes
Although I am interested in all aspects of plant biology, my specific area of research lies in plant ecology and plant-pollinator interactions. Often plants invest resources into developing reproductive structures (e.g. flowers and ovules) long before peak pollinator activity, and inter-annual variation in pollinator abundance can be great. I am seeking to understand the mechanisms of how plants allocate their resources to reproductive organs when pollination events and environmental factors are highly uncertain. My current MSc project focuses on modelling optimal resource allocation strategies in English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in response to varying pollination events and population density. Data will be collected from bluebell populations in the local woods around Durham and hand pollination manipulations will be conducted. This will allow better understanding of how reproductive investment is realised as reproductive success in natural populations. The degree of variation in reproductive success will be measured by assessing seed set. There are thought to be certain methods adopted by plants in order to minimise investment losses, such as self fertilisation and aborting fruit, and I will also be considering these in Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Position: MSc Student in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Supervised by: Dr. Shane Richards, Dr. Philip Stephens, Membership: Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre, Contact Details: School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE. Email: [email protected] Education
2014-present MSc by Research, Durham University, UK 2011-2014 BSc Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Durham University, UK |
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Selected Awards and Fellowships
Grevillea Trust Studentship, 2014
Scientific scholarship to Durham University, 2011
Grevillea Trust Studentship, 2014
Scientific scholarship to Durham University, 2011
