Andre Kessler, Cornell University
Associate Professor
Ithaca, New York
ak357@cornell.edu
Office:
(607) 254-4219
Expert In
Bio/Research
I study the mechanisms and ecological consequences of plants induced responses to herbivore damage, including aspects of multi-trophic interactions, population ecology, phenotypic plasticity, plant-pollinator interactions and plant defense mechanisms against herbivores. More recently we focused o...
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Bio/Research
I study the mechanisms and ecological consequences of plants induced responses to herbivore damage, including aspects of multi-trophic interactions, population ecology, phenotypic plasticity, plant-pollinator interactions and plant defense mechanisms against herbivores. More recently we focused our research on the ecological relevance of herbivore-induced changes in flower metabolism and morphology. In my lab we use chemical and molecular tools in manipulative field and laboratory experiments to understand the mechanisms of elicitation, signal transduction and defensive secondary metabolite production in plants, which are attacked by herbivores. The functional analysis of traits involved in the expression of induced plant responses of native species in their natural habitats may help to understand the evolution of plant defenses and eventually allows the utilization of the plants' own defenses in sustainable agriculture.
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