Jim Dalling
I’m a Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After completing my B.A. at Oxford University, I did my doctoral dissertation research at Cambridge University with field work in montane forest in Jamaica. In 1992 I moved to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and worked at the Barro Colorado Island research station until I arrived in Urbana in 2000.
I continue to work mostly in Panama and remain a Research Associate at STRI. In addition to working on Barro Colorado Island I’ve also more recently expanded my research to include montane forests at Fortuna and Volcan Baru in western Panama.
Email: dalling@illinois.edu Twitter: @DallingJim
Astrid Ferrer
Astrid is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Plant Biology with a PhD from SUNY-ESF. She is a mycologist who specializes on wood decay fungi. She led our recent Dimensions of Biodiversity grant on fungal community assembly on wood in aquatic and marine habitats and collaborates on our projects related to mycorrhizal fungi.
Current students in our lab:
Allanis Vera
Allanis is a Ph.D student just starting work on seed and root-fungal interactions in Panama
Suma Pagaldevatti
Suma is a PhD student exploring the host specificity of fungi associated with the seeds of free-standing and hemi-epiphytic (strangler) figs in the forests of the western Ghats, India
Lauren Otolski
Lauren is a PhD student working on integrating the effects of wood and soil nutrients and wood secondary chemistry on wood-decay microbial communities and decomposition rates of trees in the Fortuna Forest Reserve, Panama
Recent graduates from our lab:
Jéssica Viana
I received my Ph.D in Plant Biology from the University of Illinois in 2020. I am interested in understanding the factors that both influence and affect species diversity in plant communities. My dissertation research focused on how soil nutrient limitation impacts the distribution, the functional traits, and the phylogeny of tropical fern species. I am also looking at how the interaction of soil nutrient limitation and genome size can impact the performance of fern species. Currently postdoctoral researcher, National Taiwan University.
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Manuel Flores
I completed a master’s degree in the Plant Biology department in 2022. My research focused on understanding nutrient recycling that occurs within tropical forest tree wood and how this phenomenon may influence tree species distributions along soil fertility gradients. Currently PhD student, Yale University
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Cecilia Prada
I am a Colombian scientist who completed my Ph.D. in the Plant Biology program on the relationship between soil nutrients and the diversity, composition, and distribution of tree species. For my thesis I established the network of plots along an elevational gradient from 1500 – 3200 m on the slopes of Volcan Baru, western Panama. I am also interested in evaluating how ectomycorrhizal trees constrain nutrient availability, affecting heterospecific seedling performance in oak-dominated forest. Currently postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University and soon to return to work with us on Baru!
Zarluis Mijango
I am a Panamanian tropical botanist who completed a master’s degree in Plant Biology. I studied the effect of tropical monodominance on subordinate tree species in the Fortuna Forest Reserve. I am very passionate about plants. I am interested in tropical plant ecology and taxonomy. I am now exploring the plant chemical ecology of the monodominant Forests at Fortuna. Currently PhD student, University of Texas, Austin
Not quite so recent graduates
Sierra Perez (MS) Wood decay rate and carbon residency in Trelease Woods, lllinois. Currently PhD student, Indiana University
Jennifer Jones (PhD) Drivers of variation on wood decomposition in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Currently AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, Washington DC
Katie Heineman (PhD) Wood nutrient storage in tropical trees. Currently Vice-President of Science and Conservation, Center for Plant Conservation, San Diego.
Adriana Corrales (PhD) Ectomycorrhizal tree associations in tropical montane forests. Currently Expeditions Strategy and Planning Lead, Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN)
Brian Steidinger (MS) Partitioning of phosphorus source acquisition in montane forest trees. Currently Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow, Konstanz, Germany.
Pimonrat Tiansawat (PhD) Germination ecology of Macaranga species. Currently, Assistant Professor, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Claire Baldeck (PhD) Soil resource partitioning in tropical tree communities. Currently, Data Scientist, Boardroom Alpha
Elena Lobo (PhD) Analysis of forest gap disturbance on Barro Colorado Island using lidar. Deceased
Kelly Andersen (PhD) Habitat partitioning among understory palm species across soil fertility gradients. Currently, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Eloisa Lasso (PhD) Vegetative reproduction and clonality in Piper species. Currently Professor, Los Andes University, Colombia.
Rachel Gallery (PhD) Demographic impact of fungi associated with seeds of Cecropia. Currently, Professor, University of Arizona