Richard Shefferson
Assistant Professor
Graduate Faculty
University of Georgia
Room 121,
Ecology Bldg.
Athens, GA 30602
Office: (706) 542-6257
Fax: 706-542-4819
email: dormancy@uga.edu
Education
Ph.D. - University of California, Berkeley
Research Interests
- Evolutionary ecology
- Life history evolution
- Mycorrhizal ecology
- Conservation ecology
- Phylogenetic approaches to ecological questions
- Demography
Research Projects
Evolutionary history of mycorrhizae and other plant-microbe interactions; evolution of senescence and dormancy in long-lived plants; mycorrhizal aspects of succession; evolutionary ecology of mycorrhizal networks and microbial feedbacks
Selected Publications
Shefferson, R.P., T. Kull, and K. Tali. 2008. Mycorrhizal interactions of orchids colonizing Estonian mine tailings hills. American Journal of Botany 95:156-164.
Shefferson, R.P., D.L. Taylor, M. Weiss, S. Garnica, M.K. McCormick, S. Adams, H.M. Gray, J.W. McFarland, T. Kull, K. Tali, T. Yukawa, T. Kawahara, K. Miyoshi, and Y.-I. Lee. 2007. The evolutionary history of mycorrhizal specificity among lady's slipper orchids. Evolution 61:1380-1390.
Shefferson, R.P. and E. L. Simms. 2007. Costs and benefits of fruiting to future reproduction in two dormancy-prone orchids. Journal of Ecology 95:865-875.
Shefferson, R.P. and K. Tali. 2007. Dormancy is associated with decreased adult survival in the burnt orchid, Neotinea ustulata. Journal of Ecology 95:217-225.
Shefferson, R.P. 2006. Survival costs of adult dormancy and the confounding influence of size in lady's slipper orchids, genus Cypripedium. Oikos 115:253-262.
Simms, E.L., D.L. Taylor, J. Povich, R.P. Shefferson, M. Urbina, and Y. Tauszick. 2006. An empirical test of partner choice mechanisms in a legume-rhizobium interaction. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences 273:77-81.
Shefferson, R.P., T. Kull, and K. Tali. 2006. Demographic response to shading and defoliation in two woodland orchids. Folia Geobotanica 41:95-106.
Shefferson, R.P., M. Weiss, T. Kull, and D.L. Taylor. 2005. High specificity generally characterizes mycorrhizal association in rare lady's slipper orchid! s, genus Cypripedium. Molecular Ecology 14:613-626.
Shefferson, R.P., T. Kull, and K. Tali. 2005. Adult whole-plant dormancy induced by stress in long-lived orchids. Ecology 86:3099-3104.
Bruns, T. and R.P. Shefferson. 2004. Evolutionary studies of mycorrhizal fungi: milestones and future directions. Canadian Journal of Botany 82:1122-1132.
Shefferson, R.P., J. Proper, S.R. Beissinger, and E.L. Simms. 2003. Life history trade-offs in a rare orchid: the costs of flowering, dormancy, and sprouting. Ecology 84:1199-1206.
Richard Shefferson
