Our Faculty

Lauren Carley

I am an evolutionary ecologist interested in how natural selection shapes intraspecific variation in plant traits, and how that variation influences processes like species interactions, adaptation, population dynamics, and speciation. Much of my work focuses on the evolution of plant defensive chemistry in the context of environmental change.

Duke University
Durham, NC
PhD - Ecology
2020

Reed College
Portland, OR
BA - Biology
2012

Local Adaptation Is Highest in Populations With Stable Long-Term Growth.
Local Adaptation Is Highest in Populations With Stable Long-Term Growth. Ecol Lett. 2025 Feb; 28(2):e70071.
PMID: 39964071

Increasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism.
Increasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism. Ecol Lett. 2025 Jan; 28(1):e70039.
PMID: 39737722

Direct tracking of pollen with quantum dots reveals surprising uniformity in dispersal distance across 11 populations of an annual plant.
Direct tracking of pollen with quantum dots reveals surprising uniformity in dispersal distance across 11 populations of an annual plant. Am J Bot. 2023 07; 110(7):e16201.
PMID: 37306119

Are genetic variation and demographic performance linked?
Are genetic variation and demographic performance linked? Evol Appl. 2022 Nov; 15(11):1888-1906.
PMID: 36426131

Moving beyond the "Diversity Paradox": The Limitations of Competition-Based Frameworks in Understanding Species Diversity.
Moving beyond the "Diversity Paradox": The Limitations of Competition-Based Frameworks in Understanding Species Diversity. Am Nat. 2022 07; 200(1):89-100.
PMID: 35737981

Ecological factors influence balancing selection on leaf chemical profiles of a wildflower.
Ecological factors influence balancing selection on leaf chemical profiles of a wildflower. Nat Ecol Evol. 2021 08; 5(8):1135-1144.
PMID: 34140651

Relaxation of putative plant defenses in a tropical agroecosystem.
Relaxation of putative plant defenses in a tropical agroecosystem. Ecol Evol. 2021 Jun; 11(11):5815-5827.
PMID: 34141186

Long-Term Effects of Copper Nanopesticides on Soil and Sediment Community Diversity in Two Outdoor Mesocosm Experiments.
Long-Term Effects of Copper Nanopesticides on Soil and Sediment Community Diversity in Two Outdoor Mesocosm Experiments. Environ Sci Technol. 2020 07 21; 54(14):8878-8889.
PMID: 32543178

Effects of maternal source and progeny microhabitat on natural selection and population dynamics in Alliaria petiolata.
Effects of maternal source and progeny microhabitat on natural selection and population dynamics in Alliaria petiolata. Am J Bot. 2019 06; 106(6):821-832.
PMID: 31162644

Ecological causes and consequences of flower color polymorphism in a self-pollinating plant (Boechera stricta).
Ecological causes and consequences of flower color polymorphism in a self-pollinating plant (Boechera stricta). New Phytol. 2018 04; 218(1):380-392.
PMID: 29369384