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Gregory S. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Professor and Pepper-Giberson Chair of Environmental Studies

  Applied evolutionary ecology:
plant diseases in tropical and temperate forest communities

My long term goal is to understand what shapes the structure and composition
of fungal and plant communities in natural ecosystems, and to apply that understanding to conservation practice. Currently I spend most of my effort in three areas:
(1) using the tools of phylogenetic ecology to understand the ecological impacts of plant diseases in temperate and tropical ecosystems, and applying those tools toward better conservation and phytosanitary practice.
(2) developing the recently establish UCSC-Forest Ecology Research Plot, a 6-ha mapped forest dynamics plot in mixed-evergreen coastal forest on the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve, to be a vibrant center for student research and teaching.
(3) exploring approached to improved cross-cultural communications and inquiry-based teaching and learning in environmental sciences.
Email: ggilbert <at> ucsc.edu       Tel: +1-831-459-5002         Fax: +1-831-459-4015       Office: 439 ISB    Office Hours
Snail-mail: G.S. Gilbert, Environmental Studies, 1156 High St., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA		  

 

Full CV

  


Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae

Gregory S. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Education
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá (Postdoctoral Fellow 1991-95)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Plant Pathology, Soil Science minor (MSc 1988, Ph.D. 1991)
Tropical Ecosystems Course, Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica (1989)
B.S. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1985 (Envir. & Forest Biology) (1985)
SeaMester Program in Coastal Ecology, Long Island University (1984)

Curent Positions
Pepper-Giberson Professor of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz (Jul 2008 - present)
Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá (Jan 1997 - present)

Current Service
Director, SCWIBLES (Santa-Cruz Watsonville Inquiry-Based Learning in Environmental Sciences) 2010-
Co-director, Center for Tropical Research in Ecology, Agriculture, and Development (CenTREAD) 2002-
Editorial Board, Ecology and Ecological Monographs (2004-)
Board of Directors, Vice-Chair for Research, Organization for Tropical Studies (2004-)
Graduate Committee, Chair (UC Santa Cruz, Environmental Studies) (2003-05, 2006-)

Current Grants
GK-12-SCWIBLES: Santa Cruz-Watsonville Inquiry-Based Learning in Environmental Studies. NSF GK-12 DGE-0947923, 2010-2015)

Rare-species advantage: consequences of phylogenetic and numerical rarity of hosts for disease pressure and pathogen communities. G.S. Gilbert and I.M. Parker, NSF DEB-0842059. (2009-2012)

Select Recent Publications
Gilbert, G.S. and I.M. Parker. 2010. Rapid evolution in a plant-pathogen interaction and the consequences for introduced
      host species. Evolutionary Applications. 3:144-156
Gilbert, G.S. and nine coauthors. 2010. Beyond the tropics: forest structure in a temperate forest mapped plot.
      Journal of Vegetation Science 21:388-405
Méndez, V. E., E. N. Shapiro, and G.S. Gilbert. 2009. Cooperative management and its effects on shade tree diversity,
      soil properties and ecosystem services of coffee plantations in western El Salvador. Agroforestry Systems 76:111-126
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
Gilbert, G.S. and I.M. Parker. 2008. Porroca: an emerging disease of coconut in Central America. Plant Disease 92:826-830
Parker, I.M. and G.S. Gilbert. 2007. When there is no escape: the effects of natural enemies on native, invasive, and
      noninvasive plants. Ecology 88: 1210-1224
Gilbert, G.S. and C.O. Webb. 2007. Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen-host range. Proceedings of the National Academy
      of Sciences (PNAS) 104:4979-4983