Associate Professor, EEB
The University of Tennessee
OFFICE: Austin Peay 403D & E
e-mail: OGAOUE@UTK.EDU
Research in our lab is at the interface of population ecology and ethnoecology. We use mathematical models, field observations, experiments and ethnobotanical methods to study the drivers and conservation implications of plant-human interactions in a changing world. First, we ask how biotic and abiotic factors shape plant population dynamics, plant-insect interactions and mediate plant response to chronic anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., NTFP harvest, fire, fragmentation). Second, we ask how local people select medicinal/food plants; and particularly how plant demographic and chemical responses to previous interactions (e.g., harvest, fire) determine future plant-human interactions (e.g., harvest intensity, fire regime). Answering these basic ecological and ethnoecological questions is critical to projecting future plant-human interactions and identifying the role that conservation programs can play in facilitating the sustainable use of forests.
