Additional Contact Information
贰尘补颈濒:听濒.尘补谤办别蝉迟别颈箩苍蔼产补苍驳辞谤.补肠.耻办
Tel: 01248 382337听(from U.K.)
+44听1248 382337听(International)
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Tropical forest ecology, Functional ecology, Restoration ecology, Plant-enemy interactions 鈥�
As a researcher I am foremost fascinated by biodiversity and as such most of my work is carried out in biologically complex tropical forest ecosystems. My research addresses processes underlying function and co-existence of tropical plants and mechanisms of biodiversity generation and maintenance. I take a special interest in density-dependent mortality or negative density dependence (NDD), as mediated by plant natural enemies, and how it affects regeneration dynamics of tropical plants. I further work on physiological plant responses to limiting resources, resource competition, and tolerance to environmental and global change - principally with respect to water and light. I explore the effects of variation in plant functional traits on individual plant performance and species distribution from local to cross-ecosystem scales.
In addition to being a Senior Lecturer in Forest Scsience at the School of Environmental & Natural Sciences, I am an Associate Professor in Ecology at the Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Global Change Research Institute (IICG-URJC)听 at the University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid (Spain), and an affiliated researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama.
I hold a Ph.D. in Tropical Forest Ecology and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Tropical Land Use from Wageningen University (the Netherlands). I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on different projects with STRI and the Universities of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA), Oxford (UK), Yale (USA), Oregon State (USA) and Bayreuth (Germany).
Teaching and Supervision
PhD candidates:
听Breaking down the effect of UV light on litter decomposition; a study of carbon cycling along a tropical forest humidity gradient.听NERC Envision PhD.听2019 - 2023.听(co-supervised with Dr Ana Rey, and Dr Andy Smith)
Teaching:
Module coordinator:
- DXX-2017 Forest Health
Module contributions:
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Publications
2023
- Published
Browne, L., Markesteijn, L., Manzan茅-Pinz贸n, E., Wright, S. J., Bagchi, R., Engelbrecht, B., Jones, F. A. & Comita, L. S., 1 Feb 2023, In: Functional Ecology. 37, 2, p. 248-260 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2022
- Published
Weissflog, A., Markesteijn, L., Aiello, A., Healey, J. & Geipel, I., 22 Sept 2022, In: Biotropica. 54, 5, p. 1259-1269
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Barbanera, A., Markesteijn, L., Kairo, J., Juma, G. A., Karythis, S. & Skov, M., 17 Mar 2022, In: Marine and Freshwater Research.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2021
- Published
Browne, L., Markesteijn, L., Engelbrecht, B. M. J., Jones, F. A., Lewis, O. T., Manzan茅-Pinz贸n, E., Wright, S. J. & Comita, L. S., Oct 2021, In: Global Change Biology. 27, 20, p. 5043-5053
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2020
- Published
Nutrient Network & Markesteijn, L., Jan 2020, In: Global Change Biology. 26, 1, p. 119-188 70 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2019
- Published
Bagchi, R., Markesteijn, L. & Lewis, O., 16 Aug 2019.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
van der Sande, M. T., Poorter, L., Schnitzer, S. A., Engelbrecht, B. M. J. & Markesteijn, L., May 2019, In: Ecology. 100, 5, p. e02666
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Sol茅, R., Gripenberg, S., Lewis, O. T., Markesteijn, L., Barrios, H., Ratz, T., Ctvrtecka, R., Butterill, P. T., Segar, S. T., Metz, M. A., Dahl, C., Rivera, M., Viquez, K., Ferguson, W., Guevara, M. & Basset, Y., 6 Mar 2019, In: Journal for Nature Conservation. 32, 32, p. 81-101
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2018
- Published
Weissflog, A., Markesteijn, L., Lewis, O. T., Comita, L. S. & Engelbrecht, B. M. J., Mar 2018, In: Biotropica. 50, 2, p. 302-311
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Markesteijn, L. & Lewis, O. T., 4 Jul 2018.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
Ford, H., Healey, J., Markesteijn, L. & Smith, A., 15 Apr 2018, In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 258, p. 154-161 8 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Jeffs, C. T., Kennedy, P., Griffith, P., Gripenberg, S., Markesteijn, L. & Lewis, O. T., Dec 2018, In: Ecological Entomology. 43, 6, p. 813-822
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Cusack, D. F., Markesteijn, L., Condit, R., Lewis, O. T. & Turner, B. L., Jan 2018, In: Biochemistry. 137, 1-2, p. 253-266
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2017
- Published
Comita, L. S., Engelbrecht, B. M. J., Markesteijn, L., Manzane, E., Wright, S. J. & Jones, F. A., Dec 2017.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
C. Bastias, C., Fortunel, C., Valladares, F., Baraloto, C., Benavides, R., Cornwell, W., Markesteijn, L., de Oliveira, A. A., Sansevero, J. B. B., Vaz, M. C. & Kraft, N. J. B., 27 Feb 2017, In: PLoS ONE. 12, 2, p. 1-16
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2016
- Published
Weissflog, A., Markesteijn, L., Lewis, O. T. & Engelbrecht, B. M. J., 2016.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Poster 鈥� peer-review - Published
Lewis, O. T. & Markesteijn, L., 23 Feb 2016.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
Weissflog, A., Markesteijn, L., Lewis, O. T. & Engelbrecht, B. M. J., 23 Feb 2016.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
Cusack, D. F., Markesteijn, L. & Turner, B., Dec 2016.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Poster 鈥� peer-review
2015
- Published
Falster, D. S., Duursma, R. A., Ishihara, M. I., Barneche, D. R., Fitzjohn, R. G., Varhammar, A., Aiba, M., Ando, M., Anten, N., Aspinwall, M. J., Baltzer, J. L., Baraloto, C., Battles, J. J., Bond-Lamberty, B., van Breugel, M. (Editor), Camac, J., Claveau, Y., Coll, L., Dannoura, M. & Delagrange, S. & 75 others, , May 2015, In: Ecology. 96, 5, p. 1445
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Markesteijn, L. & Lewis, O. T., 2015.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review - Published
Waring, B. G., Alvarez-Cansino, L., Barry, K. E., Becklund, K. K., Dale, S., Gei, M. G., Keller, A. B., Lopez, O. R., Markesteijn, L., Mangan, S., Riggs, C. E., Rodriguez-Ronderos, M. E., Segnitz, R. M., Schnitzer, S. A. & Powers, J. S., 7 Aug 2015, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282, 1812, p. 91-98
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Sack, L., Markesteijn, L., Rawls, M., Scoffoni, C., Barlett, M. & Poorter, L., 2015.
Research output: Contribution to conference 鈥� Paper 鈥� peer-review
2014
- Published
Sack, L., Caringella, M., Scoffoni, C., Mason, C., Rawls, M., Markesteijn, L. & Poorter, L., Oct 2014, In: Plant Physiology. 166, 2, p. 829-838
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Sterck, F., Markesteijn, L., Toledo, M. & Poorter, L., Sept 2014, In: Ecology. 95, 9, p. 2514-2525
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2013
- Published
van der Sande, M. T., Poorter, L., Schnitzer, S. A. & Markesteijn, L., Aug 2013, In: Oecologia. 172, 4, p. 961-972
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Salgado Negret, B., Perez, F., Markesteijn, L., Jimenez Castillo, M. & Armesto, J. J., Nov 2013, In: Oecologia. 173, 3, p. 625-635
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2011
- Published
Markesteijn, L., Poorter, L., Paz, H., Sack, L. & Bongers, F., Jan 2011, In: Plant Cell and Environment. 34, 1, p. 137-148
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Sterck, F., Markesteijn, L., Schieving, F. & Poorter, L., 20 Dec 2011, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 108, 51, p. 20627-20632
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Onoda, Y., Westoby, M., Adler, P. B., Choong, A. M. F., Clissold, F. J., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Diaz, S., Dominy, N. J., Elgart, A., Enrico, L., Fine, P. V. A., Howard, J. J., Jalili, A., Kitajima, K., Kurokawa, H., McArthur, C., Lucas, P. W., Markesteijn, L., Perez-Harguindeguy, N. & Poorter, L. & 8 others, , Mar 2011, In: Ecology Letters. 14, 3, p. 301-312
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review - Published
Markesteijn, L., Poorter, L., Bongers, F., Paz, H. & Sack, L., 2011, In: New Phytologist. 191, 2, p. 480-495
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2010
- Published
Markesteijn, L., 3 Feb 2010, Wageningen, the Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers. 189 p.
Research output: Book/Report 鈥� Book 鈥� peer-review - Published
Markesteijn, L., Iraipi, J., Bongers, F. & Poorter, L., Sept 2010, In: Journal of Tropical Ecology. 26, p. 497-508
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2009
- Published
Markesteijn, L. & Poorter, L., Mar 2009, In: Journal of Ecology. 97, 2, p. 311-325
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2008
- Published
Markesteijn, L., Poorter, L. & Yanguas Fernandez, E., 2008, In: Revista Boliviana de Ecolog铆a y Conservaci贸n Ambiental. 24, p. 27-42
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
2007
- Published
Markesteijn, L., Poorter, L. & Bongers, F., Apr 2007, In: American Journal of Botany. 94, 4, p. 515-525
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
Activities
2024
Insect herbivores and fungal pathogens alter seedling performance, abundance, and diversity in mature forests. Their role in secondary succession, i.e., rainforest recovery, remains however understudied. Interactions between plants and their natural enemies could drive successional shifts in seedling community composition if they vary with plant functional type (PFT) and species鈥� local abundance or favor unrelated successors. We present two research projects on the impact of natural enemies on successional seedling community dynamics across two Panamanian chronosequences.
First, we conducted greenhouse experiments to assess how soil successional age (0-, 15-, 25-, 115-yrs) affects fungal-mediated plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) on germination and survival of seven tree species. Tree species varied in their association from early- to late-successional forests and their phylogenetic distance to each other. We found lower susceptibility of late-successional species, suggesting a potential decrease in importance of PSFs with increased forest age. Overall, species experienced more positive PSF in soil ages at which they peak in abundance, indicating that species-specific mutualists promote establishment of species at their associated successional stages, potentially slowing down successional turnover. Negative heterospecific PSF decreased with phylogenetic distance, favoring unrelated successors and possibly accelerating diversification.
Second, an ongoing field experiment explores the effect of insects and fungi on seedling communities in seven forests regrowing for 9, 49, 69, or 99 years. In each forest, three treatments (insecticide, fungicide, water-sprayed control) are applied to 26 1m2 plots each. All woody seedlings (5-130 cm) are identified to species level and grouped into PFT based on growth form (tree, liana) and demographic strategy. We monitor seedling survival and growth biannually for two years.
Integrating findings of our greenhouse and field studies will advance our understanding of successional and PFT-specific variation in the effects of natural enemies on seedling communities, which play a crucial role in shaping future forest composition and diversity.
19 Jun 2024
Links:
2022
Associate Editor - Tropical Forests
Sep 2022
Activity: Editorial activity (Editorial board member)16 Aug 2022
Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker)12 Jul 2022
Links:
2020
Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Tropical Forests (a specialty section of Frontiers in Forests and Global Change)
Apr 2020 鈫�
Activity: Editorial activity (Editorial board member)One persistent explanation for plant species coexistence in tropical forests, the Janzen-Connell mechanism, postulates that density-dependent mortality mediated by natural plant enemies, such as fungal pathogens and insect herbivores, puts locally rare plant species at an advantage, preventing any one species from dominating. Evidence from vegetation plots suggests that this form of density-dependence plays a key role in the maintenance of plant diversity in the tropics.
Still, most theories explaining species coexistence emphasize on local processes, while one of the clearest and best-documented patterns in plant diversity is the strong correlation between diversity and humidity at regional to global scales. While differential plant drought sensitivity is an important determinant of changes in plant species composition along humidity gradients, alternative mechanisms are needed to explain positive diversity-humidity correlations.
To investigate how Janzen-Connell effects vary with humidity, we monitored seed arrival and seedling recruitment for 18 months at eight forest sites spanning a steep natural precipitation gradient across the Isthmus of Panama (1756 鈥� 3203mm). In each of the 1ha forest plots, seeds were collected from fifty 1m2 seed traps every fortnight, and seventy-five 1m2 seedling plots that were treated with either a fungicide, an insecticide or used as a control (sprayed with equal amounts of water). All seeds and seedlings were identified by experts to the lowest taxonomical level, and seedling dynamics were monitored using four consecutive seedling censuses, every six months.
Results show that seedling recruitment was negatively density-dependent in control plots and that the strength of the negative density dependent effect increased along the precipitation gradient. This density-dependence was greatly reduced in the pesticide-treated plots. The insecticide treatment also largely eliminated the increase in diversity observed in control plots when comparing seedlings to seeds. The positive effects of insect herbivory on plant diversity increased significantly with rainfall.
Our results suggest a mechanistic explanation for the well-documented positive relationships between humidity and (i) the strength of negative density dependence and (ii) overall tropical forest plant diversity, where fungal pathogens, and especially insect herbivores operate as important mediators.
4 Mar 2020
Links:
International doctorate mention evaluation
6 Jan 2020
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2019
Oral presentation made at a Research Colloquium event at the headquarters of the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
18 Jul 2019
Links:
The overall objective of this dissertation is to 鈥榞ain increased understanding of the processes that govern plant species composition and structure of floodplain vegetation in Nong thung tong Non-Hunting Area鈥�, an isolated and threatened 61.5 km2 patch of native floodplain forest in Southern Thailand. In the dissertation Mr Ponlawat Pattarakulpisutti presents results from a set of compatible field surveys and experiments in four separate data chapters (chapters 2 鈥� 5). A general introduction (chapter 1) highlights our state of understanding of the study system and highlights the mechanisms of flooding tolerance among species, and how it should drive species distributions in these forests. It provides the broader context for the study. A general discussion (chapter 6), aims to tie everything together in the end. The four data chapters specifically showcase;
a. A field vegetation survey, shows how species differ in occurrence among predefined flooding landforms and how their distribution is (co)determined by a set of abiotic factors (soil fertility, clay content, land use history etc.), using multivariate ordination techniques (NMDS). The derived species distributions and flooding regimes serve to justify species selection for experimental work in the following chapters,
b. A seedling growth and survival experiment on four dominant tree species subjected to different flooding and recovery from flooding treatments shows that species differ markedly in flooding tolerance.
c. A seed flotation and viability after flooding experiment again shows some differences among selected species, and
d. The final data chapter assesses the natural regeneration and recruitment of species in the field.
As very little is known about floodplain forest ecology in general, and especially the threatened floodplain forests of Thailand, this dissertation should be considered as a relevant and timely piece of work. This dissertation will add new and original understanding to the broader field of floodplain forest ecology.
12 Jun 2019
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2018
This workshop focussed on developing a better understanding of the species and habitats of dry forests and the interaction between dry forest biodiversity and its people. It brought together experts and researchers from the UK and Latin America with shared interests in dry forest biodiversity and sustainable management practices for rural communities. The workshop was led by a joint UK-Peru team with a recognised track record of biodiversity research and capacity building, including South American students successfully trained at doctoral and master's levels, publishing collaborative research in scientific journals, and experience in conservation and development projects in the region. Together, they exchanged knowledge and experiences of the common ecosystem and biodiversity issues across dry forest regions (e.g. from Colombia, Peru, Argentina) and forged a new roadmap that identifies the priority research areas relevant for sustainable management, match capacity building needs and opportunities, and identify key stakeholders. A jointly agreed programme of work produced by all participants outlined potential sources of funding for the longer-term sustainability of new research partnerships centred on exchange and research visits, and mentoring of a new generation of career-young Latin American researchers.
18 Jul 2018 鈥� 20 Jul 2018
Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Participant)PhD dissertation
1 May 2018 鈫�
Activity: Examination (Examiner)1 Mar 2018 鈫�
Activity: Examination (Examiner)1 Feb 2018 鈫�
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2017
1 Dec 2017
Links:
PhD dissertation
15 Sep 2017
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2016
PhD dissertation
10 Nov 2016
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2013
30 Apr 2013
Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Public lecture/debate/seminar (Contributor)25 Feb 2013
Links:
2012
Secret Life of the Rainforest
Rainforests cover just six percent of Earth鈥檚 surface yet contain almost half of the world鈥檚 plants and animals. On Barro Colorado Island in Panama, home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a perfect microcosm of nature exists that boasts a diversity of mammals, birds, and bugs that is unrivaled almost anywhere in the world. Follow Smithsonian researchers Ben Hirsch, Lars Markesteijn, and Leonor 脕lvarez Cansino as they explore how life thrives in one of the most complex habitats on Earth. Winner, CINE Golden Eagle.
16 Jul 2012
Links:
Projects
-
01/10/2017 鈥� 01/08/2019 (Finished)
Personal
Biography
I obtained my PhD in 2010 at听听(the Netherlands). In my听,听I addressed the functional ecology of tropical tree species, aiming to understand how species鈥� drought and shade tolerance strategies explain species coexistence and distribution along resource gradients. In early 2010, I was awarded a 2-year Rubicon grant by the听Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research听(NWO), that I used to collaborate with the听听(STRI) in Panama and the Unoiversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to听study the role of plant hydraulics in explaining differences in drought performance between liana and tree species. Late in 2011, I moved to Spain where I visited the听听at the National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN-CSIC) in Madrid for a year. Early in 2013, I started working on the NERC-funded project, entitled 鈥�Natural enemies, climate and the maintenance of tropical tree diversity鈥�, at听听(CERO), University of Oxford, in collaboration with STRI. In this project we set out to test the hypothesis that听humidity drives variation in tropical plant diversity through its influence on the interactions between plants and their natural enemies.听The 2015-2016 El Ni帽o event, and subsequent funding through a听听by the United States National Science Foundation (US NSF), provided an unique opportunity for a third postdoc to study the immediate effects of an extreme drought event on the physiological performance and regeneration dynamics of tropical plants along a rainfall gradient. This project resulted from a collaboration between Oregon State, Yale School of Forestry, Bayreuth University and STRI. In 2016, I joined the School of Natural Sciences in 2016 as a Lecturer in Forest Sciences, and a S脢R Cymru MSCA CoFund Research Fellow, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2019. Finally, in 2020, I joined the (Biodiversos) and the Global Change Research Institute (IICG-URJC) at the Department of Biology and Geography, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, in Madrid, as a Distinguished Research Lecturer (Beatriz Galindo Fellow). In 2023, I received became a tenured Associate Professor in Ecology at the same institute.
Qualifications听
2010听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听PhD Tropical forest ecology听Wageningen University, the Netherlands
2005听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听MSc Tropical land use听Wageningen University, the Netherlands
2002听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听BSc Tropical land use听Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Affiliations
University Rey Juan Carlos, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Membership of Professional Bodies
2005 鈥� present听听听听听Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation听(ATBC)
2013 鈥� present听听听听听British Ecological Society听(BES)
2013 鈥� present听听听听听Red Espa帽ola de Ecolog铆a Tropical听(REDTROP)
2016 鈥� present听听听听听Royal Forestry Society (RFS)
2016 鈥� present听听听听听International Society for Tropical Foresters (ISTF)听