Do cold temperatures limit these "dwarf" mangroves? Stephanie Stuart PhD Student, Ackerly Lab, UC Berkeley Office ~ 4003 VLSB Address ~     3060 VLSB #3140     University of California at Berkeley     Berkeley, CA 94702-3140 Phone ~ 510.643.5430 Fax ~ 510.643.6264 Email ~ sastuart_at_berkeley.edu Curriculum Vitae ~ PDF HTML Research Interests     Exploring Adaptation to Cold My research focuses on bringing together plant ecophysiology and evolutionary biology. I am interested in the interaction of ecological and evolutionary time scales, and in macroevolutionary patterns of change in physiological traits. The focus of my dissertation research is understanding the evolution of freezing tolerance in flowering plants (angiosperms). Seasonally or unpredictably cold habitats represent a significant stress for plants, which are organisms that cannot seek shelter and do not have the metabolic capacity to thermoregulate. I seek to understand the challenges presented by cold tolerance and the evolutionary and ecological opportunities that overcoming these challenges has provided throughout evolutionary history. I am approaching this question from a number of different angles, including phylogenetic comparisons, ecophysiological mechanistics, and functional genomics. My previous research has included a wide range of different experiences. I am currently employed as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) for "An annual grassland exploration of scaling from genomes to ecosystem function," a project funded by the Department of Energy's Program for Ecosystem Research. Previously, I worked with Dr. Diane Erwin in the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) on both museum curation and an independent effort to place fossil Azolla in a phylogenetic context. Before starting graduate school, I worked as a research assistant in Dr. Sarah Mathew's Lab at the Arnold Arboretum on projects including phylogenetic sequencing and alignment of phytochromes, plant pigments that sense light. As an undergraduate and post graduate, I investigated the latitudinal limits of mangrove forests, funded by Radcliffe Traveling Fellowships, the Harvard College Research Program, and the DeLand Fellowship for the Study of Woody Plants. This project represented a collaboration between Prof. Michele Holbrook and Prof. Marilyn Ball's research groups. Want a copy of my undergraduate thesis? It won several awards. My first venture into the field was as a research assistant for Dr. Matthew V. Thompson We traveled to Parque National Pan de Azúcar in Chile, where I helped him build a whether station, measure stem water potential, and dig several large holes. As a result, Matt acknowledged me in this publication. Thanks, Matt. Publications & Presentations SA Stuart, B Choat, KC Martin, NM Holbrook and MC Ball. 2006. The role of freezing in setting the latitudinal limits of mangrove forests. New Phytologist Online Early.   DOI   Request Reprint SA Stuart, DM Erwin. 2006. A fossil Azolla from the Eocene Wind River Formation, Wyoming. Paper presented to Botanical Society of America, Chico, CA, August 2006.   BSA Program   Abstract SA Stuart. 2006. Phylogeny of modern and fossil Azolla: a total evidence approach University and Jepson Herbaria Seminar Series, University of California, Berkeley. SA Stuart. 2006. A new fossil Azolla from the Wind River Formation, WY University of California Museum of Paleontology Seminar Series. SA Stuart, B Choat, NM Holbrook, MC Ball. 2005. What sets the latitudinal limit of mangrove forests? Paper presented to Ecological Society of America, Montreal, Canada.   ESA Program   Abstract SA Stuart. 2005. What sets the limits of mangrove vegetation? University and Jepson Herbaria Seminar Series, University of California, Berkeley. SA Stuart. 2005. The Lost Game, pp 125-131 in 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays. Staff of the Harvard Crimson, eds. St. Martin's Griffin, NY. Teaching & Outreach My teaching background includes work in outdoor and experiential education as a member of the steering committee for Harvard's First-Year Outdoor Program. I've enjoyed bringing the principal that learning should be fun and creative to my work as a graduate student instructor at Berkeley. My work in the outdoors is also fundamental to my belief in teaching science through field trips. At Berkeley, I've taught Medical Ethnobotany Lab, a course that introduces students to plant morphology and classification using traditional phytomedicines as a teaching tool. The major professor for this course is Thomas Carlson. I've also taught Biology 1 B, a course that covers introductory botany, evolution, and ecology. One of my major interests is increasing the number of people who understand and have access to the methods and concepts of science, especially evolutionary biology and botany. Some of my past outreach efforts have included founding a paleobotany group to encourage undergraduate research, designing an exhibit on the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary fern spike for CalDay, and sponsoring a Bio 1B field trip to Hastings Natural History Reservation. This summer, I'll be working with the University of California Museum of Paleontology outreach program on a new NSF-funded outreach project, Understanding Science. A note to undergraduates (in my classes or otherwise): I had a lot of help becoming a scientist. Many other graduate students talked to me, helped me out, and let me do research with them. I would love to help provide these same opportunities to other students. If you are interested in getting involved in research, please feel welcome to contact me. Mentors & Collaborators Ackerly Lab Website Holbrook Lab Website Dr. Matthew V. Thompson Prof. Marilyn Ball, Ecosystem Dynamics Group Mathews Lab Website Dr. Diane Erwin Dr. Brendan Choat