Julie Messier
Biography
Research in the Messier Lab is centered around the themes of trait integration and variation, plant performance, trade-offs, plant function, community assembly and climate change. We answer questions like:
Trait integration and plant performance:
In Black spruce, what trait combinations in black spruce are selected for in dry and warm environments? Do different populations express trait covariation patterns aligned with selection gradients from climate stress? In tree seedlings, do similar sets of traits responds to heat stress and drought stress? In sunflowers, do overall and specific phenotypic integration patterns change under salt stress? In trees, are plant traits good predictors of plant performance, and if so how many do we need?
Trait variation and plant performance:
In tree seedlings, does the plastic variation in response to heat and drought stresses allow them to maintain their growth? Is the change in elevation and abundance of temperate understory plants associated with specific traits?
Plant traits and community ecology:
How does the functional diversity of plant communities change after warming over time and space? In lichens and mosses living on trees (epiphytes), do the traits of the host tree affect the composition and diversity of the epiphytic community?
Dr. Messier studies the causes (i.e. the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms) and consequences (on plant performance, community diversity and species distributions) of trait variation and integration across biological scales (from within individuals to among communities). An empiricist, she uses observational and experimental studies (field and lab) to uncover general principles governing patterns of phenotypic diversity. Study systems range from model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana to temperate understory perennial plants to tree seedlings, saplings and adults.
Trait integration and plant performance:
In Black spruce, what trait combinations in black spruce are selected for in dry and warm environments? Do different populations express trait covariation patterns aligned with selection gradients from climate stress? In tree seedlings, do similar sets of traits responds to heat stress and drought stress? In sunflowers, do overall and specific phenotypic integration patterns change under salt stress? In trees, are plant traits good predictors of plant performance, and if so how many do we need?
Trait variation and plant performance:
In tree seedlings, does the plastic variation in response to heat and drought stresses allow them to maintain their growth? Is the change in elevation and abundance of temperate understory plants associated with specific traits?
Plant traits and community ecology:
How does the functional diversity of plant communities change after warming over time and space? In lichens and mosses living on trees (epiphytes), do the traits of the host tree affect the composition and diversity of the epiphytic community?
Dr. Messier studies the causes (i.e. the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms) and consequences (on plant performance, community diversity and species distributions) of trait variation and integration across biological scales (from within individuals to among communities). An empiricist, she uses observational and experimental studies (field and lab) to uncover general principles governing patterns of phenotypic diversity. Study systems range from model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana to temperate understory perennial plants to tree seedlings, saplings and adults.
Research Interests
- Plant Ecology
- Trait-based/Functional Ecology
- Ecophysiology
- Community Ecology
- Ecology and Environmental Biology
Education
- 2015 Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, United States
- 2009 M.Sc. Ecology, McGill University, Canada
- 2005 B.Sc. Biology/Ecology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
Awards
- 2018 National Science & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) – Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 2017 Ecology Letters & Ecological Society of America - Outstanding Publication award
- 2016, 2017 Quebec Center for Biodiversity Sciences - Excellence Awards
- 2016-2017 Fond Québécois Nature et Technologies (FQRNT) - Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 2015 U. of Arizona EEB department - Robert W. Hoshaw Memorial Scholarship
- 2014, 2015 U. of Arizona College of Science - Galileo Circle Fellowship
- 2014 Embassy of France in the U.S.A – STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship
- 2014 McGill University - Delta Upsilon Memorial Scholarship (2014)
- 2012, 2013, and 2014 U. of Arizona Institute of the Environment & GPSC - Travel Award
- 2009-2010 Organization for American Studies (OAS) - Academic Studies Scholarship
- 2009-2011 NSERC - Canada Graduate Scholarship PhD
- 2009-2010 FQRNT - PhD Scholarship (2011 Declined)
- 2008 FQRNT - MSc Scholarship
- 2007-2008 NSERC - Canada Graduate Scholarship MSc
Professional Associations
- Associate member, Centre for Forest Research, Québec
- Interdisciplinary Center for Climate Change (IC3) University of Waterloo
- Water Institute, University of Waterloo
- Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE), Canada
- Ecological Society of America (ESA), USA
- British Ecological Society (BES), England
- Canadian Society for Plant Biologists (CSPB), Canada
- North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN)
- International Association for Wood Anatomists (IAWA)
Teaching*
- BIOL 359 - Evolution 1: Mechanisms
- Taught in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
- BIOL 451 - Advanced Ecology and Evolution
- Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
Selected/Recent Publications
- See Dr. Messier’s Google Scholar profile for an up-to-date list of publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=xk_zSQwAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate