topics I study include: evolutionary ecology genetic diversity- ecosystem function spatial distribution of genetic diversity climate change ecology rapid evolution plant water-use and phenology eco-evolutionary feedbacks
genetic diversity, spatial models, and eco-evolutionary feedbacks in riparian systems. Dominant riparian cottonwood trees host much of the biodiversity in their riparian ecosystems and we know much about how within-species variation in these populations affect ecosystem processes. How does the distribution of genetic diversity on the landscape affect ecosystem processes, like components of the water cycle? How have hydrological regimes driven genetic divergence across populations? Does incorporating genetic variation into models help us make better spatial predictions of potential shifts to ecosystem function on the landscape?
rapid evolution, genetic diversity and ecosystem function in species interactions. Organisms with different generation times evolve at different rates (e.g., shorter generation times may rapidly evolve). Those changes may affect how organisms interact. Symbiotic algae living within corals may evolve more rapidly than their hosts, possibly conferring benefits to their more slowly-evolving hosts in the face of climate change. Similarly, trees interact with soil microbial communities that can respond more rapidly to environmental change. How might genetically-based interactions between organisms with different generation times mediate responses to climate change stressors, and how might that differ across populations that harbor different levels of genetic variation?
tropical forest phenology and scales of observation. Like all tropical systems, on the Big Island in Hawai'i forests are green year-round. This has made studying the effects of climate change on plant phenology difficult. Phenology is the study of cycles and seasonal changes in plant life cycles like leaf, flower, seed, and fruit production. How can we synthesize multiple data sources at very different scales of measurement, such as satellite data, UAV (drone) measurements, PhenoCam images, and on-the-ground field collections to better understand shifting plant response to climate change?
Bayliss, SLJ, LO Mueller, IM Ware, JA Schweitzer, JK Bailey. (2022). Stacked distribution models predict climate-driven loss of variation in leaf phenology at continental scales. Communications Biology 5(1213): https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04131-z
Bayliss, SLJ, M Papeş, JA Schweitzer, JK Bailey. (2022). Aggregate population-level models informed by genetics predict more suitable habitat than traditional species-level model across the range of a widespread riparian tree. PLoS ONE 17(9): e0274892. doi. 10.1371/journal. pone.0274892
Bayliss, SLJ, LO Mueller, IM Ware, JA Schweitzer, JK Bailey. (2020). Plant genetic variation drives geographic differences in atmosphere-plant-ecosystem feedbacks. Plant-Environment Interactions 00:1-15. DOI: 10.1002/pei3.10031
Beals, KK, JA Moore, SN Kivlin, SLJ Bayliss, CY Lumibao, LC Moorhead, M Patel, JL Summers, IM Ware, JK Bailey, JA Schweitzer. (2020) Predicting plant-soil feedback in the field: meta-analysis reveals that competition and environmental stress differentially influence PSF. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8:191. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00191
Van Nuland, ME, J Vincent, IM Ware, LO Mueller, SLJ Bayliss, KK Beals, JA Schweitzer, JK Bailey. (2020) Interspecific trait variation across elevation predicts a widespread tree species’ climate niche and range limits. Ecology & Evolution 00:1-12. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5969
Bayliss, SLJ, ZR Scott, MA Coffroth, CP terHorst. (2019) Genetic variation in Breviolum antillogorgium, a coral reef symbiont, in response to temperature and nutrients. Ecology and Evolution 9(5): 2803-13. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4959
Ware IM, Fitzpatrick C, Senthilnathan A, Bayliss SLJ, Beals KK, Mueller LO, Summers JL, Wooliver RC, Van Nuland ME, et al. (2018) Feedbacks link ecosystem ecology and evolution across spatial and temporal scales: Empirical evidence and future directions. Functional Ecology 33:31-42. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13267
Bayliss, SLJ, CP terHorst, JA Lau. (2017) Testing genotypic variation of an invasive plant species in response to soil disturbance and herbivory. Oecologia 183:1135. DOI 10.1007/s00442-017-3820-9
Bayliss, SL. (2016) Genotype-by-environment interactions and diversity-function relationships of the important reef symbiont, Symbiodinium antillogorgium, across a range of nutrient environments. CSUN Electronic Theses & Dissertations. http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/171754