Muilla maritima, one of over 100 native species found on Coyote Ridge, flowers in the foreground, while former WWU graduate student Daniel Slakey samples plant diversity to investigate encroachment of exotic species into this biodiversity hotspot. Photo: David Hooper

WWU Biology professor David Hooper and graduate student Leslie Gonzalez measure plant diversity and productivity in experimental grassland plots in California. The Nature study uses results from over 100 experiments like this, that directly manipulate diversity under common environmental conditions. Photo: Jeff Dukes.

(Former) Graduate student Katie Theoharides (U Mass Boston) maps  invasive species using GPS, while (former) WWU undergraduate Scott Teas measures plant diversity and soil nutrient availability in experimental grassland plots in California. Photo: David Hooper

Former WWU graduate student Leslie Gonzalez samples plant diversity at Coyote Ridge, California, where carefully managed light grazing helps keep invasive exotic species from taking over in this diverse native grassland.  Pollution further threatens native species at this site. 

Researchers measure how changing estuarine food webs influence sediment biogeochemistry at the Zostera Experimental Network’s (ZEN) Chesapeake Bay site.  Credit: Emmett Duffy

Researchers establish experimental plots in the Zostera Experimental Network’s (ZEN) Chesapeake Bay site. The experiment tests how natural gradients in marine biodiversity and physical forcing influence plant production and transfer through the food web. Credit: Emmett Duffy

Diverse estuarine herbivores (amphipod crustaceans) more effectively graze nuisance algae in seagrass beds.  Credit: Emmett Duffy

Students measuring ecosystem production in an estuarine biodiversity experiment.  Credit: Emmett Duffy

Students measuring ecosystem production in an estuarine biodiversity experiment.  Credit: Emmett Duffy