Jonathan Levine
Biography
Jonathan Levine has been a Full Professor in the department since 2010. Prior, he held Associate and Assistant professor positions at UCSB and UCLA. Jonathan conducted his dissertation work at UC Berkeley, and postdoctoral studies at Imperial College, Silwood Park.
Research
Research in our plant ecology group examines leading questions at the interface of plant population and community ecology. Though I am primarily an empirical ecologist, the approaches we take often have population models at their core, allowing rigorous links between theoretical concepts and the dynamics of plants in their natural environment. Our research into the maintenance of species diversity generally explores the role of niche differences in regulating species coexistence. Recent work examines how differences between species in their functional traits and patterns of relatedness determine the outcome of competition. In the area of biological invasions, our projects have explored all stages of the invasion process. Current work examines how habitat fragmentation influences the spread of invasive plants across landscapes and the persistence of native populations in invaded systems. These projects take advantage of annual plant communities in California, where population models can reasonably describe community dynamics.
Selected Publications
- Levine, J. M., A. K. McEachern, and C. Cowan. 2011. Seasonal timing of first rain storms affects rare plant population dynamics. Ecology 92:2236–2247.
- Allesina, S. and J. M. Levine. 2011. A competitive network theory of species diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108:5638-5642.
- Pachepsky, E. and J. M. Levine. 2011. Density dependence slows invader spread in fragmented landscapes. American Naturalist 177:18-28
- Mayfield, M. M. and J. M. Levine. 2010. Opposing effects of competitive exclusion on the phylogenetic structure of communities. Ecology Letters 13: 1085–1093.
- Viola, D. V., E. A. Mordecai, A. Jaramillo, S. A. Sistla, L. K. Albertson, J. S. Gosnell, B. J. Cardinale, and J. M. Levine. 2010. Does a competition–defense tradeoff maintain plant diversity? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:17217-17222.
- Levine, J. M. and J. HilleRisLambers. 2009. The importance of niches for the maintenance of species diversity. Nature 461:254-257.
- Adler, P. B., J. Hille Ris Lambers, and J. M. Levine. 2007. A niche for neutrality. Ecology Letters 10:95-104.
- Levine, J. M., P. B. Adler, S. G. Yelenik. 2004. A meta-analysis of biotic resistance to exotic plant invasions. Ecology Letters 7: 975-989.
- Levine, J. M. and M. Rees. 2002. Coexistence and relative abundance in annual plant communities: the roles of competition and colonization. American Naturalist 160: 452-467.
- Levine, J. M. 2000. Species diversity and biological invasions: relating local process to community pattern. Science 288: 852-854.