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Dr. Andy McCall
B.A. in Biology from Carleton College, 1998
M.S. in Botany from University of Canterbury, 2001
M.S. in Population Biology from University of California, Davis, 2003
Ph.D. in Population Biology from University of California, Davis, 2006
See full resume [pdf] |
See my plant sex blog: http://sexyplants.wordpress.com/
Denison University Herbarium Online
Teaching
BIOL 150 – Introduction to the Science of Biology
BIOL 202 – Evolution and Ecology
BIOL 321 – Plant Ecology
BIOL 326 – Plant Evolution and Reproduction
I’m a plant evolutionary ecologist with special interests in pollination biology and plant-herbivore interactions. I also am interested in how insect phenology is affected by climate change. I am a big fan of field work and have study sites in Ohio, Arizona, and California. During the Ohio winters, I use manipulative experiments in the greenhouse to answer some of my questions (especially # 2 below).
My current research questions are:
1) Does variability in herbivore pressure over time affect the evolution of induced resistance in wild radish?
2) How and why do florivores (things that eat flowers) choose what flowers to eat?
3) How does florivory affect pollination and fitness in sacred Datura, Datura wrightii, in Arizona?
4) What factors are affecting butterfly species richness and diversity in Northern California?
Recent publications
McCall, A.C., J.A. Fordyce. 2010. Can optimal defense theory be used to predict the distribution of plant chemical defenses? Journal of Ecology 98: 985-992.
McCall, A.C. 2010. Does dose-dependent petal damage affect pollen limitation in a California annual plant? Botany 88: 601-606.
Forister, M.L., A.C. McCall, N. J. Sanders, J. A. Fordyce, J.H. Thorne, J. O’Brien, D.P. Waetjen, and A.M. Shapiro. 2010. Thirty years of climate change and habitat alteration shift patterns of butterfly diversity. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, USA 107: 2088-2092.
McCall, A.C. 2008. Florivory affects pollinator visitation and female fitness in Nemophila menziesii. Oecologia 155: 729-737.
Past and current lab members (Senior theses titles are given when appropriate):
Monique Brown, 2009, worked on how and if past herbivory affects resistance in wild radish
Josh Drizin, 2009, worked on pollination biology in Echinacea angustifolia
Stephen Murphy, 2009, Thesis: “The effects of induction on petal palatability in radish”
Jameson Pfeil, 2009, worked on pollination and seed predation in Echinacea angustifolia
Colin Venner, 2009, Thesis: “How does pollinator activity affect fitness in Echinacea angustifolia?
Heather Robertson, 2010, Thesis: “Does petal color affect florivores in wild radish?”
Caitlin Splawski, 2010, Thesis: “Plant recruitment in a restored prairie in Ohio”
Luke Avery, 2011, working on why butterfly communities change over time in California
Grant Adams, 2011, Thesis: “Does variation in herbivore pressure affect the evolution of inducible resistance in wild radish?”
Kelsy Espy, 2011, Thesis: “Does leaf damage induce resistance in wild radish flowers?”
Brian Jackson, 2011, Thesis: “How do abiotic factors affect succession on Mt. St. Helens?”
Eric Thomson, 2011, Thesis: “Floral visitors and florivory in Datura wrightii”