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Research interests

I am interested primarily in the coexistence of ecologically similar species; particularly in which mechanisms might be important. The system in which I have most experience is a group of annuals which are commonly found all around Europe and which differ dramatically in their mean seed size. Species which produce large seeds cannot produce so many seeds which poses the question why should a species bear this cost of reduced offspring number? We have investigated the possibility of species coexistence via a competition-colonisation trade-off and shown that this does indeed occur with large-seeded species being better competitors, although it's probably not the whole story. Recently I have started studying this trade-off in more detail and investigating the effects of changing the nutrient status of the environment on the nature of the trade-off.

I have also worked with other species, including short-lived chalk-grassland plants, and legumes. In both cases I was interested to use seed sowing experiments to disentangle competitive relationships within these groups. I have also been involved with spatial analysis, for example, linking competition coefficients to spatial patterns.

Curriculum vitae

Current	Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Zürich: Post-doctoral research assistant with Prof. B. Schmid
2001 - 2002	Graveney School, London: Teacher of Science
2000	University of Surrey, Roehampto: Postgraduate Certificate in Secondary Education
1997 - 1999	Biology Department, Imperial College, London: Post-doctoral research associate with Dr. M. Rees and Prof. P.J. Grubb (Coexistence mechanisms in short-lived chalk-grassland plants)
1994 - 1996	Imperial College, London: PhD: The Role of Spatial Processes in a Limestone Grassland (supervised by Prof. M.J. Crawley and Dr. M. Rees)
1992	Cambridge University: B.A. (Hons.) First Class; Natural Sciences (Zoology). Drewett's prize for ecology; elected scholar of King's College, Cambridge

Publications

Rose, K., Atkinson, R., Turnbull, L.A. and Rees, M. (2009) The costs and benefits of fast living. Ecology Letters 12: 1-6.

Paul-Victor, C. and Turnbull, L.A. (2009) The effect of growth conditions on the seed size/number trade-off. PLOS-ONE 4(9): e6917. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006917

Turnbull, L.A., Rees, M., Purves, D.W. (2008) Why equalising trade-offs aren't always neutral. Ecology Letters 11: 1037-1046.

Petermann, J., Fergus, A., Turnbull, L.A. and Schmid B. (2008) Janzen-Connell effects are widespread and strong enough to maintain diversity in grasslands. Ecology 89: 2399-2406.

Turnbull, L.A., Paul-Victor, C., Schmid, B.S., Purves, D.W. (2008) Growth rates, seed size, and physiology: do small-seeded species really grow faster? Ecology 89: 1352-1363.

Vojtech, E., Turnbull, L., Hector, A. (2007) Differences in light interception in grass monocultures predict short-term competitive outcomes under productive conditions. PLoS ONE 2(6): e499. doi:10.1371.

Turnbull, L.A., Coomes, D.A., Purves, D.W., Rees, M. (2007) How spatial structure alters population and community dynamics in a natural plant community. Journal of Ecology 95: 79-89.

Turnbull, L.A. , Santamaria, S., Martorell, T., Rallo, J., & Hector, A. (2006) Seed size variability: from carob to carats. Biology Letters 2: 397-400.

Turnbull, L.A. , Manley, L. and Rees, M. (2005) Niches, rather than neutrality, structure a grassland pioneer guild. Proc. R. Soc. B 272: 1357-1364.

Turnbull, L.A. , Rahm, S., Baudois, O., Eichenberger-Glinz, S., Wacker, W. & Schmid, B. (2005) Experimental invasion by legumes reveals non-random assembly rules in grassland communities. Journal of Ecology 93: 1062-1070.

Turnbull L. A., Coomes D. A., Hector A., Rees M. (2004) Seed mass and the competition/colonization trade-off: competitive interactions and spatial patterns in a guild of annual plants. Journal of Ecology 92: 97-109.

Coomes D. A., Rees M., Grubb P. J., Turnbull L. ( 2002a) Are differences in seed mass among species important in structuring plant communities? Evidence from analyses of spatial and temporal variation in dune-annual populations. Oikos 96: 421-432.

Coomes D. A., Rees M., Turnbull L., Ratcliffe S. (2002b) On the mechanisms of coexistence among annual-plant species, using neighbourhood techniques and simulation models. Plant Ecology 163: 23-38.

Turnbull L. A., Crawley M. J., Rees M. (2000) Are plant populations seed-limited? A review of seed sowing experiments. Oikos 88: 225-238.

Rees M., Mangel M., Turnbull L. A., Sheppard A., Briese D. (2000) The effects of heterogeneity on dispersal and colonisation in plants. In: M. J. Hutchings, E. A. John, and A. J. A. Stewart (eds) Ecological Consequences of Environmental Heterogeneity. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 237-265.

Turnbull L. A., Rees M., Crawley M. J. (1999) Seed mass and the competition/colonization trade-off: a sowing experiment. Journal of Ecology 87: 899-912.

Coomes D. A., Rees M., Turnbull L.A. (1999) Identifying aggregation and association in fully-mapped spatial data. Ecology 80: 554-565.

Turnbull L. A. (1998) The role of spatial processes in a limestone grassland. PhD thesis. Imperial College, London.

last updated on 02.11.2009

© by Lilli Strasser Institut für Umweltwissenschaften [ 2005 ]