University of Oxford Crest Ecology Research Group Department of Zoology
University of Oxford
South Parks Road
Oxford, OX1 3PS, U.K.
University of Oxford | Department of Zoology
Home About Research People Publications Links
Rachel Gallery

Rachel Gallery

NERC Postdoctoral Research Associate
Research Interests

My research focuses on the processes that structure communities and the mechanisms that promote coexistence among tree species in tropical forests. I use ecological experiments and molecular tools to study the impact of host-pathogen interactions on community diversity.

My PhD research examined the ecology and interactions of fungi and seeds in tropical forest seed banks, and the abiotic factors that influence host-fungal interactions. I focused on a guild of tree species that rapidly exploit treefall gaps and comprise the first steps in tropical forest succession. Working in Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador, I examined how the abundance, distribution, and host-specificity of seed pathogens affect seed survival and seed-bank dynamics of pioneer trees in the genus Cecropia (Cecropiaceae).

My current work in Belize, Central America, investigates the role of density-dependent mortality on seedling recruitment, specifically testing the hypothesis that specialized fungal pathogens promote seedling coexistence by preventing any single species from dominating the community.

Selected Publications

Diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and evolutionary origins of fungi associated with seeds of a neotropical pioneer tree.  U’Ren, J. M., J. W. Dalling, R. E. Gallery, D. R. Maddison, E. C. Davis, C. M. Gibson, and A. E. Arnold. (2008). Mycological Research (in press)

Prevalent host-generalism among fungi associated with seeds of four neotropical pioneer species.  Kluger, C. G., J. W. Dalling, R. E. Gallery, E. Sanchez, C. Weeks-Galindo, and A. E. Arnold. (2008). Journal of Tropical Ecology 24: 351-354.

Diversity, host affinity, and distribution of seed-infecting fungi: a case study with neotropical Cecropia.  Gallery, R. E., Dalling, J. W., & Arnold, A. E. (2007) Ecology 88: 582-588.

Role of seed-infecting fungi in the recruitment limitation of neotropical pioneer species.  Gallery, R. E., Dalling, J. W., Wolfe, B. & Arnold, A. E. (2007) Chapter 23 in Seed dispersal: Theory and its application in a changing world (Eds. Dennis, A., Green, R., Schupp, E., & Westcott, D.) CABI Press.

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and patterns of host association over time and space in a tropical forest.  Husband, R., Herre, E. A., Turner, S. P., Gallery, R. E., and Young, P. W. (2002) Molecular Ecology 11: 2669-2678.
 
© Ecology Research Group, 2005 Page Design by Colin Harrower Last Updated on 8th June 2007