Overview
Bill Morris studies the population ecology of plants and
insects (both herbivores and pollinators). Current
projects include: the population dynamic consequences
of constitutive and inducible resistance in plants, the
maintenance of mutualistic interactions between
flowering plants and nectar-robbing pollinators, the use
of population-level attributes to detect biotic responses
to ongoing environmental changes, and the use of
mathematical models to assess viability of threatened
and endangered populations. The common thread uniting
these projects is that they combine field experiments
and mathematical models to study population dynamics
in natural and managed systems.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Biology
·
2006 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Recent Publications
Climatic versus biotic drivers' effect on fitness varies with range size but not position within range in terrestrial plants
Journal Article Ecological Monographs · February 1, 2025 All populations are affected by multiple environmental drivers, including climatic drivers such as temperature or precipitation and biotic drivers such as herbivory or mutualisms. The relative response of a population to each driver is critical to prioriti ... Full text CiteLocal Adaptation Is Highest in Populations With Stable Long-Term Growth.
Journal Article Ecology letters · February 2025 Theory suggests that the drivers of demographic variation and local adaptation are shared and may feedback on one other. Despite some evidence for these links in controlled settings, the relationship between local adaptation and demography remains largely ... Full text CiteIncreasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism.
Journal Article Ecology letters · January 2025 It is unclear how environmental change influences standing genetic variation in wild populations. Here, we characterised environmental conditions that protect versus erode polymorphic chemical defences in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a short-lived pere ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Collaborative LTREB Research: How will local adaptation and climatic extremes shape continental-scale changes in distribution and abundance under climate change?
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2024 - 2029Collaborative Research: Adapting disturbance management to future climate in a fire-prone ecosystem: does response of an at-risk species indicate biodiversity effects?
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2025 - 2027Integrating legacy effects of past disturbance and climate into stochastic population dynamics in a changing world
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Kansas State University · 2024 - 2027View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Washington ·
1990
Ph.D.
Cornell University ·
1983
B.S.