Ligusticum porteri, Oshá
Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae) is a perennial species of high elevation meadows and understories of the Rockies. Few ecological studies have focused on L. porteri, although it appears in a range of other studies as a component of subalpine vegetation. My research with Ligusticum pursues two complementary tracks that bring together my expertise in plant-herbivore interactions and conservation of medicinal plants. Surveys of populations revealed plants in open meadows are host to large aphid colonies, while plants in the understory are largely free of aphids. Follow-up experimental work found that ants--mutualists who protect aphids from predators--largely determine this pattern.
Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae) is a perennial species of high elevation meadows and understories of the Rockies. Few ecological studies have focused on L. porteri, although it appears in a range of other studies as a component of subalpine vegetation. My research with Ligusticum pursues two complementary tracks that bring together my expertise in plant-herbivore interactions and conservation of medicinal plants. Surveys of populations revealed plants in open meadows are host to large aphid colonies, while plants in the understory are largely free of aphids. Follow-up experimental work found that ants--mutualists who protect aphids from predators--largely determine this pattern.
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In the other side of this project, I have examined harvest sustainability using a replicated experimental harvest set up in 2012. This study has revealed how L. porteri populations recover from harvest over several years. The results from this study show robust vegetative regrowth following harvest. This is a very different story than with other medicinal plants, and it suggests that L. porteri populations are fairly resilient to harvest at this scale.
Publications
Mooney, E.H., Phillips, J. S.*, Tillberg, C.V., Sandrow, C.*, Nelson, A.S.* & Mooney, K.A. (2015) Abiotic mediation of a mutualism drives herbivore abundance. Ecology Letters.
Mooney, E. H., Martin, A. A.*, & Blessin, R. P.* (2015). Effects of light environment on recovery from harvest and antibacterial properties of oshá Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae). Economic Botany, 69(1), 72-82.
*Undergraduate co-author
Mooney, E.H., Phillips, J. S.*, Tillberg, C.V., Sandrow, C.*, Nelson, A.S.* & Mooney, K.A. (2015) Abiotic mediation of a mutualism drives herbivore abundance. Ecology Letters.
Mooney, E. H., Martin, A. A.*, & Blessin, R. P.* (2015). Effects of light environment on recovery from harvest and antibacterial properties of oshá Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae). Economic Botany, 69(1), 72-82.
*Undergraduate co-author