Manuel Lerdau

Professor, Biology

Primary Location

PO BOX 400123
386A Clark Hall

Primary Phone Number

434.924.3325

Bio & Overview

I am an organismal ecologist with interests in both the ecosystem implications of physiological processes and the evolutionary underpinnings of these processes. My research centers around fundamental questions of resource acquisition and allocation in plants and touches upon such topics as herbivory and tri-trophic interactions, atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, community and ecosystem impacts of biological invasions, and organismal controls over element cycling. I combine experimental and observational research and collaborate with modelers in the development of process-based ecosystem models. My research currently centers around questions regarding genomics and stress tolerance and trace gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. My newest projects involve 1) the physiological ecology of metals, and 2) biological mechanisms underlying ecosystem responses to climate change.

Academic Information

Department: Biology

Other Appointments

Environmental Sciences

Research Interests

Environmental & evolutionary physiology, ecosystem ecology, biosphere-atmosphere interactions

Selected Publications

Wang B, Shugart HH, Shuman JK, Lerdau MT, Forests and ozone: productivity, carbon storage, and feedbacks., 2016; Scientific reports. 6() 22133. PMID: 26899381 | PMCID: PMC4762018

Lerdau MT, Minding (and bridging) the gap between evolutionary ecology and atmopsheric biogeochemistry in a study of plant pollinator behaviour., 2015; The New phytologist. 209(1) 11-2. PMID: 26625344

Cannon CH, Lerdau M, Variable mating behaviors and the maintenance of tropical biodiversity., 2015; Frontiers in genetics. 6() 183. PMID: 26042148 | PMCID: PMC4437050

Oikawa PY, Lerdau MT, Catabolism of volatile organic compounds influences plant survival., 2013; Trends in plant science. 18(12) 695-703. PMID: 24060580

Oikawa PY, Giebel BM, Sternberg Lda, Li L, Timko MP, Swart PK, Riemer DD, Mak JE, Lerdau MT, Leaf and root pectin methylesterase activity and 13C/12C stable isotopic ratio measurements of methanol emissions give insight into methanol production in Lycopersicon esculentum., 2011; The New phytologist. 191(4) 1031-40. PMID: 21592134

McFrederick QS, Fuentes JD, Roulston T, Kathilankal JC, Lerdau M, Effects of air pollution on biogenic volatiles and ecological interactions., 2009; Oecologia. 160(3) 411-20. PMID: 19352722

D'Odorico P, Laio F, Ridolfi L, Lerdau MT, Biodiversity enhancement induced by environmental noise., 2008; Journal of theoretical biology. 255(3) 332-7. PMID: 18845164

Lerdau M, Ecology. A positive feedback with negative consequences., 2007; Science (New York, N.Y.). 316(5822) 212-3. PMID: 17431162