Robert Muscarella
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Department of Ecology and Genetics; Plant Ecology and Evolution
- Telephone:
- +46 72 314 30 07
- Mobile phone:
- +46 72 314 30 07
- E-mail:
- Robert.Muscarella@ebc.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Evolutionsbiologiskt Centrum (EBC)
Norbyvägen 18 D - Postal address:
- Norbyvägen 18 D
752 36 UPPSALA
- ORCID:
- 0000-0003-3039-1076
Short presentation
I study plant communities – especially tropical forests – by mixing field studies, biodiversity databases, and statistical models. My research explores how environmental heterogeneity influences plant diversity and dynamics across various spatial and temporal scales. I am interested in diversity patterns, species range dynamics, the responses of biological communities to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and the implications for ecosystem services.
Keywords
- climate change
- community ecology
- tropical ecology
- species distributions
- functional traits
- range dynamics
- biogeography
- macroecology
Research
Please see details at: https://bobmuscarella.weebly.com
Publications
Recent publications
Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
Part of Nature, p. 653-661, 2025
- DOI for Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
- Download full text (pdf) of Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
Part of Ecology and Evolution, 2025
- DOI for Intraspecific Trait Variation in Tree Species Responds to Environmental Heterogeneity at Range-Wide but Not Local Scales
- Download full text (pdf) of Intraspecific Trait Variation in Tree Species Responds to Environmental Heterogeneity at Range-Wide but Not Local Scales
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025
- DOI for Soil eDNA reflects regionally dominant species rather than local composition of tropical tree communities
- Download full text (pdf) of Soil eDNA reflects regionally dominant species rather than local composition of tropical tree communities
A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
Part of AoB Plants, 2025
- DOI for A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
- Download full text (pdf) of A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
Part of Physiologia Plantarum, 2025
- DOI for Contrasting Seasonal Variation of Photosynthesis in Evergreen and Deciduous Tree Species From a Tropical Forest
- Download full text (pdf) of Contrasting Seasonal Variation of Photosynthesis in Evergreen and Deciduous Tree Species From a Tropical Forest
All publications
Articles in journal
Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
Part of Nature, p. 653-661, 2025
- DOI for Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
- Download full text (pdf) of Plant diversity dynamics over space and time in a warming Arctic
Part of Ecology and Evolution, 2025
- DOI for Intraspecific Trait Variation in Tree Species Responds to Environmental Heterogeneity at Range-Wide but Not Local Scales
- Download full text (pdf) of Intraspecific Trait Variation in Tree Species Responds to Environmental Heterogeneity at Range-Wide but Not Local Scales
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025
- DOI for Soil eDNA reflects regionally dominant species rather than local composition of tropical tree communities
- Download full text (pdf) of Soil eDNA reflects regionally dominant species rather than local composition of tropical tree communities
A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
Part of AoB Plants, 2025
- DOI for A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
- Download full text (pdf) of A spatio-temporal model of embolism propagation in leaf vein networks
Part of Physiologia Plantarum, 2025
- DOI for Contrasting Seasonal Variation of Photosynthesis in Evergreen and Deciduous Tree Species From a Tropical Forest
- Download full text (pdf) of Contrasting Seasonal Variation of Photosynthesis in Evergreen and Deciduous Tree Species From a Tropical Forest
Towards a global understanding of tree mortality
Part of New Phytologist, p. 2377-2392, 2025
- DOI for Towards a global understanding of tree mortality
- Download full text (pdf) of Towards a global understanding of tree mortality
Tropical forests in the Americas are changing too slowly to track climate change
Part of Science, 2025
Climate biogeography of Arabidopsis thaliana: Linking distribution models and individual variation
Part of Journal of Biogeography, p. 560-574, 2024
- DOI for Climate biogeography of Arabidopsis thaliana: Linking distribution models and individual variation
- Download full text (pdf) of Climate biogeography of Arabidopsis thaliana: Linking distribution models and individual variation
Part of Global Change Biology, 2024
- DOI for Damage to tropical forests caused by cyclones is driven by wind speed but mediated by topographical exposure and tree characteristics
- Download full text (pdf) of Damage to tropical forests caused by cyclones is driven by wind speed but mediated by topographical exposure and tree characteristics
Part of Ecosystems, p. 479-491, 2024
Part of Biotropica, 2024
- DOI for Height-diameter allometry for a dominant palm to improve understanding of carbon and forest dynamics in forests of Puerto Rico
- Download full text (pdf) of Height-diameter allometry for a dominant palm to improve understanding of carbon and forest dynamics in forests of Puerto Rico
Part of Ecology and Evolution, 2024
- DOI for Survival, growth, and functional traits of tropical wet forest tree seedlings across an experimental soil moisture gradient in Puerto Rico
- Download full text (pdf) of Survival, growth, and functional traits of tropical wet forest tree seedlings across an experimental soil moisture gradient in Puerto Rico
Drone microrelief analysis to predict the presence of naturally regenerated seedlings
Part of Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2024
- DOI for Drone microrelief analysis to predict the presence of naturally regenerated seedlings
- Download full text (pdf) of Drone microrelief analysis to predict the presence of naturally regenerated seedlings
Part of Ecology and Evolution, 2023
- DOI for Water-limited environments affect the association between functional diversity and forest productivity
- Download full text (pdf) of Water-limited environments affect the association between functional diversity and forest productivity
Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane
Part of Functional Ecology, p. 3000-3014, 2023
- DOI for Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane
- Download full text (pdf) of Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane
Hydraulic variability of tropical forests is largely independent of water availability
Part of Ecology Letters, p. 1829-1839, 2023
- DOI for Hydraulic variability of tropical forests is largely independent of water availability
- Download full text (pdf) of Hydraulic variability of tropical forests is largely independent of water availability
Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests
Part of Nature, p. 111-117, 2023
- DOI for Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests
- Download full text (pdf) of Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests
Part of Functional Ecology, p. 447-460, 2023
ENM2020: A free online course and set of resources on modeling species niches and distributions
Part of Biodiversity Informatics, p. 1-9, 2022
- DOI for ENM2020: A free online course and set of resources on modeling species niches and distributions
- Download full text (pdf) of ENM2020: A free online course and set of resources on modeling species niches and distributions
Hurricanes increase tropical forest vulnerability to drought
Part of New Phytologist, p. 1005-1017, 2022
Ten simple rules for managing communications with a large number of coauthors
Part of PloS Computational Biology, 2022
- DOI for Ten simple rules for managing communications with a large number of coauthors
- Download full text (pdf) of Ten simple rules for managing communications with a large number of coauthors
Part of One Earth, p. 226-237, 2021
Edaphic heterogeneity and the evolutionary trajectory of Amazonian plant communities
Part of Ecology and Evolution, p. 17672-17685, 2021
Part of Methods in Ecology and Evolution, p. 1602-1608, 2021
- DOI for ENMeval 2.0: Redesigned for customizable and reproducible modeling of species’ niches and distributions
- Download full text (pdf) of ENMeval 2.0: Redesigned for customizable and reproducible modeling of species’ niches and distributions
Functional recovery of secondary tropical forests
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021
Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots
Part of Biological Conservation, p. 108849, 2021
Genomics of sorghum local adaptation to a parasitic plant
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, p. 4243-4251, 2020
Effects of topography on tropical forest structure depend on climate context
Part of Journal of Ecology, p. 145-159, 2020
- DOI for Effects of topography on tropical forest structure depend on climate context
- Download full text (pdf) of Effects of topography on tropical forest structure depend on climate context
Part of Scientific Reports, 2020
- DOI for Hurricane-Induced Rainfall is a Stronger Predictor of Tropical Forest Damage in Puerto Rico Than Maximum Wind Speeds
- Download full text (pdf) of Hurricane-Induced Rainfall is a Stronger Predictor of Tropical Forest Damage in Puerto Rico Than Maximum Wind Speeds
Topography and Traits Modulate Tree Performance and Drought Response in a Tropical Forest
Part of Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2020
- DOI for Topography and Traits Modulate Tree Performance and Drought Response in a Tropical Forest
- Download full text (pdf) of Topography and Traits Modulate Tree Performance and Drought Response in a Tropical Forest
Pitfalls of Tree Planting Show Why We Need People-Centered Natural Climate Solutions
Part of BioScience, p. 947-950, 2020
The global abundance of tree palms
Part of Global Ecology and Biogeography, p. 1495-1514, 2020
- DOI for The global abundance of tree palms
- Download full text (pdf) of The global abundance of tree palms
Palm community transects and soil properties in western Amazonia
Part of Ecology, 2019
- DOI for Palm community transects and soil properties in western Amazonia
- Download full text (pdf) of Palm community transects and soil properties in western Amazonia
Part of Nature Ecology & Evolution, p. 928-934, 2019
Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests
Part of Nature, p. 211-214, 2016
Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics
Part of Science Advances, 2016