Benjamin Gerstner

University of New Mexico | UNM · Department of Biology

Polyploidy-whole genome duplication-is common in plants. Studies over the last several decades have documented numerous mixed-ploidy populations. Whether arising via recurrent whole genome duplication events within a population, or from secondary contact, the persistence of mixed populations depends on the ability of the minority cytotype to overco...

The use of trait-based approaches to understand ecological communities has increased in the past two decades because of their promise to preserve more information about community structure than taxonomic methods and their potential to connect community responses to subsequent effects of ecosystem functioning. Though trait-based approaches are a pow...

Insect societies vary greatly in their social structure, mating biology, and life history. Polygyny, the presence of multiple reproductive queens in a single colony, and polyandry, multiple mating by females, both increase the genetic variability in colonies of eusocial organisms, resulting in potential reproductive conflicts. The co-occurrence of...