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Andrea S. Thorpe Assistant Professor (Courtesy),
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Plant Ecology, Invasive Species, Conservation Biology
My research interests include rare species biology, conservation, and restoration; invasive species biology and control; and the interactions between plants and soil ecosystems. The central theme uniting most of my projects is using ecological theory to inform and improve conservation and restoration of native species and habitats.
My rare species research focuses on all aspects of population biology and reintroduction, from propagation through establishment, including germination and cultivation studies, comparisons of direct seeding vs. transplanting, importance of biotic and abiotic interactions, broader issues related to inbreeding and outbreeding depression, and the effects of habitat management including grazing and fire. Current projects include investigating how manipulation of soil nutrients affects growth and competitive ability of Lupinus sulphureus spp. kincaidii (Kincaid's lupine), a threatened plant that is the primary host for larvae of the endangered Fender's blue butterfly; determining the impacts of climate and herbivory on Cypripedium fasciculatum (clustered ladies' slipper; listed as threatened by the Oregon Natural Heritage Program) through a ten year demographic study; and determining how projected climate change will impact Lupinus sulphureus spp. kincaidii and the implications for conservation and reintroduction of this species.
My research on invasive species includes exploring mechanisms and effects of invasion, and effective methods for restoration of invaded habitats. Current research includes determining the allelopathic effects of Centaurea x pratense (meadow knapweed) and changes to soil biochemistry by Brachypodium sylvaticum (false-brome). I am also currently exploring effective and cost-efficient methods for restoring degraded prairies. These studies allow testing, among other things, competition versus seed limitation, plant-soil feedbacks, and co-evolution.
Thorpe, A.S., G.C. Thelen, A. Diaconu, R.M. Callaway. 2009. Root exudate is allelopathic in invaded community but not in native community: field evidence for the Novel Weapons Hypothesis. Journal of Ecology 97:641-645.
Thorpe, A.S. 2008. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Challenges in native plant conservation. Native Plants Journal 9:351-357
Thorpe, A.S., V. Archer, and T.H. DeLuca. 2006 . The invasive forb, Centaurea maculosa , increases phosphorus availability in Montana grasslands. Applied Soil Ecology 32:118-122.
Thorpe, A.S. and R.M. Callaway. 2006. Interactions between invasive species and soil ecosystems: Positive feedbacks and their potential to persist. Chapter in Cadotte, W., S.M. McMahon, and T. Fukami, editors. Conceptual Ecology and Invasions Biology: Reciprocal Approaches to Nature . Kluwer; Netherlands .
Callaway, R.M., J.L. Hierro, and A.S. Thorpe. 2005 . Evolutionary trajectories in plant and soil microbial communities: Centaurea invasions and the geographic mosaic of coevolution. Chapter in Sax, D.F., S.D. Gaines, and J.J. Stachowicz, editors . Exotic species - Bane to Conservation and Boone to Understanding: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography. Sinauer Associates; Sunderland , MA , U.S.A.
Kauffman, J.B., A.S. Thorpe, E.N.J. Brookshire. 2004 . Livestock Exclusion and Belowground Ecosystem Responses in Riparian Meadows of Eastern Oregon . Ecological Applications 14:1671-1679.
