This document discusses research on plant-animal interactions and chemical ecology at Cornell University. It covers two major areas of research: 1) studying plant secondary metabolites and defensive proteins, and how they influence population dynamics and community structure through plant-animal interactions, and 2) using physiological and genomic approaches to study coral resistance to disease. The research uses a wide range of molecular, chemical, and biological techniques in both laboratory and field settings. Researchers in chemical ecology at Cornell collaborate across departments and through organized courses and groups.

1. Plant-animal Interactions
and Chemical Ecology
By: Scott Hodges
Topic
The study of chemically
mediated organismal
interactions has a long and
successful history at
Cornell. Within the
Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology
(EEB), current research
covers two major priority
areas: plant-animal
interactions and coral
disease ecology. Our
studies of plant-animal
interactions aim to
improve our
understanding of the
mechanistic basis of plant
secondary metabolite and
defensive protein
production, the selective
forces that drive their
evolution, and their
consequences for
population dynamics and
community structure.
Similarly, ongoing
research in coral reef
chemical ecology utilizes
physiological and genomic
approaches to study the
ecology and evolutionary
biology of coral resistance
to diseases.
The methods used and
taught are as broad as the
integrative field of
Chemical Ecology and
include molecular and
chemical analytical
techniques as well as
laboratory and field
bioassays to study
the mechanisms.
The study of chemical
ecology at Cornell has
always included faculty in
many different
departments, in addition
to EEB. Today, chemical
ecologists at Cornell are
networked through
the Chemical Ecology
Group and through a
number of team-
organized undergraduate
and graduate courses.
Objectives
The goal of our research is
to elucidate the genetic
basis of adaptation and
speciation. We have
focused our efforts
primarily on floral
diversity
in Aquilegia because of the
huge variation in floral
form among species with
adaptations to bee,
hummingbird and
hawkmoth pollination. In
particular, we have shown
that the length, shape and
color of nectar spurs affect
which, and how, animals
act as pollinators, which
influence reproductive
isolation. We have linked
these studies with
macroevolutionary
patterns showing that the
evolution of spurs is
correlated with speciation
and species diversification.
We are now working to
identify the specific
genetic variation
accounting for floral and
ecological variation
in Aquilegia. To that end, I
have led the development
of genomic resources for
the genus with colleagues
Elena Kramer (Harvard
U.), Magnus Nordborg
(Gregor Mendel Inst.,
Vienna) and Justin
Borevitz (Australian
National University).
Particularly exciting has
been the development of a
high quality reference
genome by the Joint
Genome Institute.
Theoritical
Ecology is a large, diverse
and vibrant field of
science. Ecologists work
across a broad range of
biological organization,
from processes acting
within individual
organisms, to populations
of a single species, to sets
of species that occur
together in communities or
interact with their
physical environment in
ecosystems. Ecologist use
both theory and
empiricism, and work in
the field and the
laboratory.
Partipant
Research Design
Descriptive