Telephone                    (530) 752-8529

e-mail kjrice[at]ucdavis.edu

 FAX  (530) 752-4361

Department of Plant Sciences

Mail Stop 1

One Shields Avenue

University of California Davis, CA  95616

Judah

Judah D. Grossman

Degree sought:  Ph.D., Ecology

Research

Rapid evolution of red brome (Bromus rubens) in response to elevated atmospheric CO2:

Free atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) experiments, originally established to study how global change might affect plant physiology and ecology, now present a unique opportunity to study the rapid evolutionary potential of plants as well.  Dr. Kevin Rice and I are researching whether red brome populations at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF) have evolved in response to elevated CO₂ treatments applied from 1997-2003.  Preliminary results suggest that over 6 years, these red brome treatment populations evolved lower stomatal conductance and lower seasonal water use efficiency in response to elevated CO₂.  These results suggest that plants can evolve rapidly in response to global change and certain species (i.e., biological invaders) may be more prone rapid evolution.  How will plant community composition shift in the face of global change?  Will species diversity suffer as a consequence, and how might that affect ecosystem function and stability?

Phoretic mite discrimination among male burying beetles (Nicrophorus investigator):

Nicrophorus beetles reproduce by burying small vertebrate carcasses underground in a brood chamber.  Phoretic mites (Poecilochirus spp) attach to Nicrophorus beetle hosts and rely on them for transportation and access to their hosts’ brood chamber, where they also reproduce.  With the help of Dr. Rosemary Smith, I am researching whether phoretic mites discriminate among burying beetle hosts based on their apparent vigor and likelihood to serve as a successful host.  This work is being conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), an idyllic research station in Colorado.  Undergraduate summer courses, graduate research programs, and an incredible community of students and professors make this place an ecologist’s paradise.

Tackling Aquatic Invasions: Risks and Opportunities for the Aquarium Industry:

The aquarium trade is a potentially important pathway for the introduction of biological invaders.  To assess the potential risk of aquarium-related introductions, I collaborated with eight other graduate students at UC Davis and our faculty advisor, Dr. Edwin Grosholz, to survey aquarium stores in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region and determine whether ornamental fish might be able to survive if released into Bay-Delta waters.  Our results indicate that the ornamental fish trade in this region includes up to 27 species that can survive in a temperate system such as the Bay-Delta.  This work was supported by the Biological Invasions IGERT at UC Davis.