Our Research Focus

At the Endriss lab, we conduct research with the intention of helping to develop solutions to important applied conservation challenges, while furthering basic understanding of eco-evolutionary theory. Our lab is dedicated to studying plant invasions, which are one of the top ecological and economic challenges. Understanding what drives their spread and their impacts is critical to informing effective management. Additionally, invasions represent fascinating evolutionary experiments conducted on an unprecedented global scale. For example, we use invasions to investigate how different selective pressures can drive different evolutionary trajectories, as plants often experience consistent environmental differences between their native and introduced ranges. Invasions therefore present unique, replicated opportunities to increase our understanding of eco-evolutionary theory, which can have strong implications for introduced and native plants alike.