Loretta Battaglia

Assistant Professor
 
Ph.D. 1998, University of Georgia
 
Wetland Ecology
 
Office and Lab: Life Science II, Room 411
Office and Lab Phone: 618-453-3216
email: LB
Lab web page

Research Interests

I am interested in the dynamics of wetland plant communities and the ecological processes that link them with the surrounding landscape. Specifically, research in my lab focuses on the effects of climate change and large-scale phenomena, such as exotic species invasions, on community structure and function, as well as development of restoration targets for coastal wetlands undergoing rapid climate change. We employ a combination of observational and experimental approaches in the field and greenhouse to address our research questions. Selected research projects include: 1) assisted migration as a management tool in coastal ecosystems threatened by climate change; 2) effects of sea level rise on coastal transition ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico; 3) the spread of exotic species in coastal communities undergoing rapid climate change; and 4) the utility of donor seedbanks for restoring resiliency of degraded coastal communities.

Selected Publications

  1. Battaglia, L. L., J. S. Denslow, J. R. Inczauskis and S. G. Baer. 2009. Effects of native vegetation on invasion success of Chinese Tallow in a floating marsh ecosystem. Journal of Ecology 97: 239–246.
  2. King, S. L., R. R. Sharitz, J. W. Groninger and L. L. Battaglia. 2009. Ecology, restoration, and management of floodplains: a synthesis. Wetlands 29: 624–634.
  3. Shirley, L. J. and L. L. Battaglia.  2008.  Projecting fine resolution land-cover dynamics in a rapidly changing coastal landscape.  Journal of Coastal Research 24: 1545-1554.
  4. Battaglia, L. L., P. R. Minchin and D. W. Pritchett.  2008.  Evaluating dispersal limitation in passive bottomland forest restoration.  Restoration Ecology 16: 417-424.
  5. Nelson, J. L., J. W. Groninger, L. L. Battaglia and C. M. Ruffner.  2008. Bottomland hardwood forest vegetation and soils recovery following a tornado and salvage logging.  Forest Ecology and Management 256: 388-395.
  6. Collins, B. and L. L. Battaglia.  2008.  Oak regeneration in bottomland hardwood forests.  Forest Ecology and Management 255: 3026-3034.
  7. Battaglia, L. L., J. S. Denslow and T. G. Hargis.  2007.  Does woody species establishment alter herbaceous community composition of freshwater floating marshes?  Journal of Coastal Research 23: 1580-1587.
  8. Shirley, L. J. and L. L. Battaglia.  2006.  Assessing vegetation change in coastal marsh-forest transitions along the northern Gulf of Mexico using National Wetlands Inventory data.  Wetlands 26: 1057-1070.
  9. Battaglia, L. L. and B. S. Collins.  2006.  Linking hydroperiod and vegetation response in Carolina Bay wetlands.  Plant Ecology 184: 173-185.
  10. Battaglia, L. L. and R. R. Sharitz.  2006.  Response of floodplain forest species to spatially condensed gradients: a test of the flood-shade tolerance tradeoff hypothesis.  Oecologia, 147:  108-118.

SIUC / College of Science / Plant Biology
URL: http://www.science.siu.edu/plant-biology/BioPages/Battaglia.bio.html
Last updated: 03-Jul-09 / dln