One of best known patterns in ecology is the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity. Near the poles there tend to be fewer species than in the tropics. Here are two examples from my own travels. First, a moist lowland forest on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica (9°N latitude). In a hectare of forest you can…

I spent the better part of September inside of a cloud, not moving. Recording data for a seedling census isn’t the most glamorous job, especially in the mountains when the cold wet autumn air inevitably finds its way through all the layers you might be wearing. Here is Dovrefjell, home to my friend Kristin Odden…

PLoS Biology just published my paper on how the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs affected plants. You can read the paper here (Plant Ecological Strategies Shift Across the Cretaceous–Paleogene Boundary), or read an excellent popular summary here (A Plant’s Guide to Surviving the Chicxulub Impact). There’s also media coverage in Newsweek, The Daily Mail, and…

Winter is coming to Dovrefjell. The high peaks are already covered in snow, and the plants of the lowlands have changed to turn gold and red for autumn. On this landscape the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) is also preparing for winter. For me the musk ox has always been a mythical sort of animal, a…