Lerdau

I am an organismal ecologist with interests in both the ecosystem implications of physiological processes and the evolutionary underpinnings of these processes. My research centers around fundamental questions of resource acquisition and allocation in plants and touches upon such topics as herbivory and tri-trophic interactions, atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, community and ecosystem impacts of biological invasions, and organismal controls over element cycling.

I combine experimental and observational research and collaborate with modelers in the development of process-based ecosystem models. My research currently centers around questions regarding genomics and stress tolerance and trace gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. My newest projects involve 1) the physiological ecology of metals, and 2) biological mechanisms underlying ecosystem responses to climate change.

First Name: 
Manuel
Position: 
Professor
Email: 
mlerdau@virginia.edu
Computing ID: 
mlerdau
Photo: 
Lerdau
Classification: 
Research Area: 
Graduate Students: 
Bin Wang (Ph.D.) Brynn Cook (Ph.D.) (co-advised with Tai Roulston) Catherine Vincent (Ph.D.)