Research: I have very broadly defined research interests ranging from reproductive ecology to community ecology of plants. I have also become interested recently in human ecology. I am particularly interested in the development of new hypotheses and conceptual models for the interpretation of adaptive strategies for growth, survival and reproduction in plants along environmental gradients and how these strategies help to explain patterns in the abundance, distribution and diversity of organisms, taxa, biomass and productivity within and between habitats.

 
»» Lab Website »« email: aarssenl@queensu.ca »« telephone: 613-533-6133 ««

Some Recent Publications: 

• Dombroskie, S. and L.W. Aarssen (2010) Within-genus size distributions in angiosperms: Small is better.  Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 12: 283-293.
• Aarssen, L.W., C.J. Lortie, and A.E. Budden (2010) Judging the quality of our research: a self-assessment test. Web Ecology 10: 23-26.
• Schamp, B. and L.W. Aarssen (2010) The role of plant species size in invasibility: a field experiment. Oecologia 162: 995-1004.
• Whitman, T. and L.W. Aarssen  (2010) The leaf size/number trade-off in herbaceous angiosperms. Journal of Plant Ecology 3: 49-58.
• Keating, L.M & L.W. Aarssen (2009) Big plants­ do they limit species coexistence? Journal of Plant Ecology 2: 119-124.
• Aarssen, L.W. (2009) Not my brother’s keeper:  a thought experiment for Hamilton’s rule.  Bioscience Hypotheses (2009) 2: 198-204.
• Chambers, J. and L. W. Aarssen. (2009) Offspring for the next generation: most are produced by small plants within herbaceous populations.  Evolutionary Ecology 23:737–751.
• Bonser, S.P. and Aarssen, L.W. (2009) Interpreting reproductive allometry: individual strategies of allocation explain size-dependent reproduction in plants.  Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics 11: 31-40.
• Schamp, B.S. and L.W. Aarssen (2009) The assembly of forest communities according to maximum species height along resource and disturbance gradients.  Oikos 18: 564-572.
• Neytcheva, M. and Aarssen, L.W. (2008).  More plant biomass results in more offspring production in annuals, or does it?  Oikos 117: 1298-1307.
• Aarssen, L.W. (2008) Death without sex – the ‘problem of the small’ and selection for reproductive economy in flowering plants.  Evolutionary Ecology 22: 279-298.
• Schamp, B.S., Chau, J. and Aarssen, L.W.  (2008) Dispersion of traits related to competitive ability in an old-field plant community.  Journal of Ecology 96: 204-212.