Plant diseases and the maintenance of biological diversity
Perhaps the most fundamental question in tropical ecology is "what maintains high biological diversity?" I have a long-standing interest in how plant diseases affect host population dynamics, community structure, and conservation of forest ecosystems. Much of my work has focused on investigating the impacts of endemic diseases on host fecundity, survival, and spatial distribution. Past work has included tests of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, where diseases of juvenile trees disproportionately affect trees at high densities and near mother trees. This makes resources available for non-susceptible species and can help maintain high diversity in the forest. I continue to look at the role diseases play in structuring both high- and low-diversity tropical forests, ranging from lowland moist tropical forests to mangrove forests.

Related publications

• Bradley, D.J., G.S. Gilbert, and J.B.H. Martiny. 2008. Pathogens promote plant diversity through a compensatory response.  Ecology Letters 11:461-469 PDF
• Gilbert, G.S., J. Gorospe, and L. Ryvarden. 2008. Host and habitat preferences of polypore fungi in Micronesian tropical flooded forests. Mycological Research doi:10.1016/j.mycres.2007.11.009
• Gilbert, G.S. and D.R. Strong. 2007. Fungal symbionts of tropical trees. Ecology 88:539-540. PDF
• Gilbert, G.S., D.R. Reynolds and A. Bethancourt. 2007. The patchiness of epifoliar fungi in tropical forests: host range, host abundance, and environment. Ecology 88:575-581 PDF   (appendices) PDF
• Gilbert, G. S. 2005. The dimensions of plant disease in tropical forests. Pages141-164 in D.R.F.P. Burslem, M.A. Pinard and S. Hartley (eds.) Biotic Interactions in the Tropics. Cambridge University Press.
• Gilbert, G.S. 2002. Evolutionary ecology of plant diseases in natural systems. Annual Review of Phytopathology 40:13-43.
• Gilbert, G.S. 2002. Interacciones entre microorganismos y plantas Pages 435-463 in M. Guariguata and G. Kattan (eds.), Ecología y Conservación de Bosques Tropicales. Libro Universitario Regional, Cartago, Costa Rica.
• Gilbert, G.S. and W.P. Sousa. 2002. Host specialization among wood-decay fungi in Caribbean mangrove forests Biotropica 34: 396-404.
• Gilbert, G. S., A. Ferrer, and J. Carranza. 2002. Polypore fungal diversity and host density in a moist tropical forest. Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 947-957.
• Gilbert, G. S., K. E. Harms, D. N. Hamill, S. P. Hubbell, and R. B. Foster. 2001. Effects of seedling size, weather, seedling density, and distance to nearest conspecific adult on 6-year survival of Ocotea whitei seedlings in Panamá. Oecologia 127: 509-516.
• Travers, S.E., G.S. Gilbert, and E.F. Perry. 1998. The effect of rust infection on reproduction in a tropical tree (Faramea occidentalis). Biotropica 30:438-443.
• Gilbert, G. S., N. Talaro, C. A. Howell, and A. Symstad. 1997. Multiple-scale spatial distribution of the fungal epiphyll Scolecopeltidium on Trichilia spp. in two lowland moist tropical forests. Canadian Journal of Botany 75: 2158-2164.
• Gilbert, G. S. and D. De Steven. 1996. A canker disease of seedlings and saplings of Tetragastris panamensis (Burseraceae) caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea in a lowland tropical forest. Plant Disease 80: 684-687.
• Gilbert, G. S. and S. P. Hubbell. 1995. Plant diseases and the conservation of tropical forests. Bioscience 46: 98-106.
• Gilbert, G. S. 1995. Rainforest plant diseases: the canopy - understory connection. Selbyana 16:75-77.
• Gilbert, G. S., S. P. Hubbell, and R. B. Foster. 1994. Density and distance-to-adult effects of a canker disease of trees in a moist tropical forest. Oecologia 98: 100-108.