Laura Aldrich-Wolfe

Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Biology and Environmental Studies
Phone: 218-299-4996
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Degrees and Education:

  • Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Minor in Conservation and Sustainable Development
  • B.A. Highest Honors, Ecology and Evolution, Latin American and Iberian Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara

Courses Taught:

  • Biology 122 Evolution and Diversity
  • Biology 221 Ecology
  • Biology 222 Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • Biology 313 Plant Taxonomy
  • Conservation Biology

Research / Teaching Interests:

Plant-fungal interactions, mycorrhizal ecology, tropical ecology, conservation biology, plant ecology, sustainable development

Scholarly Activities:

Research advisor, "Functional diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizas in native and non-native grasslands of northern Minnesota" and "Species composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in organic and conventional coffee in two regions of Costa Rica"

Mentor, Concordia Undergraduate Research Experience,  Summers 2011-2012

Participant, Math-Bio Teaching Workshop, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, January 2012

Co-P.I., Managing Weed Invasion in Diversified Biofuel Grasslands: The Interplay of Soil Microbes, Nurse Species, and Nitrogen (USDA-CRIS) PIs Nicholas Jordan, Craig Sheaffer and Linda Kinkel at the University of Minnesota, 2010-2013

Presenter, "Effects of invasive and native grassland plant species on diversity and composition of associated communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi," Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Austin, Texas, Aufust 2011.  Project with Nicholas Jordan, Sheri Huerd, Gary Muehlbauer, University of Minnesota and Diane Larson , Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Survey

Recent Publications

  • Walker, J. F., Aldrich-Wolfe, L., Riffel, A., Barbare, H., Simpson, N. B., Trowbridge, J. and Jumpponen, A. 2011. Diverse Helotiales associated with the roots of three species of Arctic Ericaceae provide no evidence for host specificity. New Phytologist 191: 515–527.
  • Aldrich-Wolfe, L. 2007. Distinct mycorrhizal communities on new and established hosts in a transitional tropical plant community. Ecology 88(3): 559-566.
  • Lekberg, Y., R. T. Koide, J. R. Rohr, L. Aldrich-Wolfe, and J. B. Morton. 2007. Role of niche restrictions and dispersal in the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. Journal of Ecology 95: 95-105.
  • Hatch, L., M. Uriarte, L. Aldrich-Wolfe, R. G. Allen, C. Webb, K. Zamudio, A. Power, and D. Fink. 2002. Jurisdiction over endangered species' habitat: the impacts of people and property on recovery planning. Ecological Applications 12(3): 690–700.
  • Hill, G. T., N. A. Mitkowski, L. Aldrich-Wolfe, L. R. Emele, D. D. Jurkonie, A. Ficke, S. Maldonado-Ramírez, S. T. Lynch, and E. B. Nelson. 2000. Methods for assessing the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities. Applied Soil Ecology 15: 25–36.