Rachael L. Olliff Yang
Research Interests: Plant community ecology, climate change, plant phenology, habitat restoration, conservation, citizen science.
I am a plant ecologist interested in how climate change will affect plant communities, and plant-animal interactions. In particular, I study how changes in the timing of plant life cycles alter interactions between species. I am also testing potential management strategies to respond to impacts of phenological mismatch. As temporal niches shift with changes in climate, species will be impacted in a variety of ways. To manage ecosystems in the face of climate change, it is important to understand the role phenology plays in structuring plant communities.
(Photo Credit ©Alexander C. Yang)