-Adaptive abilities of plants

-The ecology of human-impacted habitats

-Ecological implications of climate change and biodiversity loss

Epiphytic plant species are abundant in the tropics but are very scarce in temperate zones. However, “accidental epiphytes” can be surprisingly common in temperate zones, usually consisting of terrestrial plant species growing on trees. 

My project involves ongoing research into this phenomenon, and asks questions such as: What are the conditions that allow for the occurrence of accidental epiphytes? Are some species better suited to epiphytic growth than others? Could the traits of these species allow for eventual evolution into fully epiphytic growth?