Helen Alexander

Professor

Primary office:

785-864-3221

7006 Haworth Hall

Bio
Academics
Publications

As a researcher, I am fascinated by the population biology of plants. Over the years, my work has primarily been in three areas: 1) studies of the ecology and evolution of plant-fungus and plant-virus interactions, 2) research on the population dynamics of wild sunflowers, and the ecology and genetics of hybridization between crop and wild plants, and 3) long-term demographic studies of a rare prairie plant, Mead's milkweed, including using "mark recapture" models to estimate population size, detectability, and probability of survival. As an educator, I teach courses in Kansas plants, conservation biology, biostatistics, and research methods. My outreach and service activities often involve outdoor education and interactions with secondary school teachers. I am currently on phased retirement and do not plan on taking on any new graduate students.

Teaching Interests

Conservation Biology
Introduction to Biostatistics
Research Methods
Kansas Plants and Landscapes

Research

As a researcher, I am fascinated by the population biology of plants. My work has primarily been in three areas: 1) studies of the ecology and evolution of plant-fungus and plant-virus interactions, 2) research on the population dynamics of wild sunflowers, and the ecology and genetics of hybridization between crop and wild plants, and 3) long-term demographic studies of a rare prairie plant, Mead's milkweed, including using "mark recapture" models to estimate population size, detectability, and probability of survival. As an educator, I teach courses in conservation biology, biostatistics, and research methods. I have been fortunate to win several teaching awards, including a Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship. Finally, my outreach and service activities often involve outdoor education and interactions with secondary school science and math teachers.

Research Interests

Ecology and evolution of plant-pathogen interactions
Hybridization between crop and wild plants
Long-term demography of rare prairie plants

Selected Publications

Lubin, T. K., Schultz, P., Bever, J. D., and Alexander, H. M. 2019. Are two strategies better than one? Manipulation of seed density and soil community in an experimental prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology 27(5): 1021-1031. doi:10.1111/rec.12953

Alexander, H. M., Collins, C. D., Reed, A. W, Kettle, W. D., Collis, D. A., Christiana, L. D., and Salisbury, V. B. 2018. Effects of removing woody cover on long-term population dynamics of a rare annual plant (Agalinis auriculata): a study comparing remnant prairie and oldfield habitats. Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4654.

Shefferson, R.P., T. Kull, T. Hutchings, M. J., Kellett, K. M. Menges, E. S., Primack, R. B., Alahuhta, K., Hurskainen, S., Alexander, H. M., Anderson, D. S., Brys, R., Brzosko, E., Dostálik, S., Gregg, K., Ipser, Z., Jacquemyn, H., Jäkäläniemi, A., Jersáková, J., Kettle, W. D., McCormick, M., Mendoza, A., Miller, M. T., Moen, A., Øien, D.-I, Püttsepp, Roy, M., Sather, N., Selosse, M.-A., N. Sletvold, N., Stipkova, Z., Tali, K., Tuomi, J., Warren II, R. J., and Whigham, D. F. 2018. Drivers and characteristics of vegetative dormancy across herbaceous perennial plant species. Ecology Letters 21: 724-733.

Dendy, S. P., Tong, B., Alexander, H. M., Fay, P. A., Murray, L., Xing, Y., & Garrett, K. A. (2017). A long-term study of burning effects on a plant pathogen in tallgrass prairie [Journal Articles]. Plant Pathology, 66, 1308–1317. https://doi.org/10.1111/pa.12678

Eager, E. A., Pilson, D., Alexander, H. M., & Tenhumberg, B. (2017). Assessing the Influence of Temporal Autocorrelations on the Population Dynamics of a Disturbance Specialist Plant Population in a Random Environment [Journal Articles]. The American Naturalist, 190, 570–583. https://doi.org/10.1086/692911

Chang, H., Alexander, H. M., Mutegi, E., & Snow, A. A. (2017). Habitat restoration and native grass conservation: a case study of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). [Journal Articles]. Restoration Ecology. Published. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12599

Jaksetic, N., Foster, B. L., Bever, J. D., Schwarting, J., & Alexander, H. M. (2017). Sowing density effects and patterns of colonization in a prairie restoration [Journal Articles]. Restoration Ecology. Published. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12550

Alexander, H. M., Bruns, E., Schebor, H., & Malmstrom, C. M. (2017). Crop-associated virus infection in a native perennial grass: reduction in plant fitness and dynamic patterns of virus detection [Journal Articles]. Journal of Ecology, 105, 1021–1031.

Malmstrom, C. M., Bigelow, P., Trębicki, P., Busch, A. K., Friel, C., Cole, E., Abdel-Azim, H., Phillippo, C., & Alexander, H. M. (2017). Crop-associated virus reduces the rooting depth of non-crop perennial native grass more than non-crop-associated virus with known viral suppressor of RNA silencing (VSR). [Journal Articles]. Virus Research. Published. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2017.07.006

Pace, B. A., Alexander, H. M., Emry, D. J., & Mercer, K. L. (2016). Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions. [Journal Articles]. Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE, 117. https://doi.org/10.3791/54663

Malmstrom, C. M., & Alexander, H. M. (2016). Effects of crop viruses on wild plants. [Journal Articles]. Current Opinion in Virology, 19, 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2016.06.008

Kost, M. A., Alexander, H. M., Emry, D. J., & Mercer, K. L. (2015). Life history traits and phenotypic selection among sunflower crop-wild hybrids and their wild counterpart: implications for crop allele introgression [Journal Articles]. EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS, 8(5), 510–524. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12261

Alexander, H. M. (2015). ECOLOGY Shared ancestry predicts disease levels [Journal Articles]. NATURE, 520(7548), 446–447.

Pace, B. A., Alexander, H. M., Emry, J. D., & Mercer, K. L. (2015). Seed fates in crop-wild hybrid sunflower: crop allele and maternal effects [Journal Articles]. EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS, 8(2), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12236

Bever, J. D., Mangan, S. A., & Alexander, H. M. (2015). Maintenance of Plant Species Diversity by Pathogens [Journal Articles]. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 46, 305–325. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054306

Roy, B. A., Alexander, H. M., Davidson, J., Campbell, F. T., Burdon, J. J., Sniezko, R., & Brasier, C. (2014). Increasing forest loss worldwide from invasive pests requires new trade regulations [Journal Articles]. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, 12(8), 457–465. https://doi.org/10.1890/130240

Alexander, H. M., Emry, D. J., Pace, B. A., Kost, M. A., Sparks, K. A., & Mercer, K. L. (2014). ROLES OF MATERNAL EFFECTS AND NUCLEAR GENETIC COMPOSITION CHANGE ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE OF CROP-WILD HYBRIDS [Journal Articles]. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY, 101(7), 1176–1188. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1400088

Alexander, H. M., Mauck, K. E., Whitfield, A. E., Garrett, K. A., & Malmstrom, C. M. (2014). Plant-virus interactions and the agro-ecological interface [Journal Articles]. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY, 138(3, SI), 529–547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-013-0317-1

Mercer, K. L., Emry, D. J., Snow, A. A., Kost, M. A., Pace, B. A., & Alexander, H. M. (2014). Fitness of crop-wild hybrid sunflower under competitive conditions: implications for crop-to-wild introgression. [Journal Articles]. PloS One, 9(10), e109001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109001

Alexander, H. M., Reed, A. W., Kettle, W. D., Slade, N. A., Bodbyl-Roels, S. A., Collins, C. D., & Salisbury, V. (2012). Detection and plant monitoring programs: lessons from an intensive survey of Asclepias meadii with five observers [Journal Articles]. PLoS ONE, 7(12), e52762. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0052762

Alexander, H. M., Foster, B. L., Ballantyne, F., IV, Collins, C. D., Antonovics, J., & Holt, R. D. (2012). Metapopulations and metacommunities: combining spatial and temporal perspectives in plant ecology [Journal Articles]. Journal of Ecology, 100, 88–103.

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