Lisa Patrick Bentley
Associate Professor
Contact
(707) 664-2918
lisa.bentley@sonoma.edu
https://lisapatrickbentley.org/
Office
Darwin 238Office Hours
Education:
Ph.D. Texas Tech University
Postdoctoral Experience:
University of Wyoming; University of Arizona; Arizona State University; University of Oxford (England)
Research Interests:
Plant Ecophysiology, Plant Physiology, Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Tropical Ecology
Research Program:
My research focuses on developing a mechanistic understanding of processes that regulate tree and forest dynamics and plant-environment interactions in diverse ecosystems using a range of techniques and approaches. In particular, I specialize in: 1) Using empirical measurements and theory to measure and predict community change and forest function in light of global change, 2) Examining patterns in tree branching architecture across temperate and tropical ecosystems using metabolic scaling theory and remote sensing, and 3) Using Bayesian statistical approaches to synthesis photosynthesis data from diverse plant species. My current projects relate to using: (1) metabolic scaling theory to understand linkages between branching architecture and tree form of diverse species, (2) leaf and wood functional traits to relate forest community assembly and ecosystem level productivity along environmental gradients across the tropics, and (3) a drought manipulation experiment to examine the effects of climate change on a northern California grassland.
Course Offerings:
BIOL 131 - Biological Diversity and Ecology
BIOL 315 - Plants and Society
BIOL 320 - Ecology and Evolution: An Integrated Approach
BIOL 348 - Plant Physiology
BIOL 351 - Climate Change Biology
BIOL 350 - Plant Physiological Ecology
BIOL 490 - Research Experience in Biology
Degrees
Ph.D. Texas Tech UniversitySelected Publications & Presentations
Asner, G.A., R.E. Martin, C.B. Anderson, K. Kryston, N. Vaughn, D.E. Knapp, L.P. Bentley, A. Shenkin, N. Salinas, F. Sinca, R. Tupayachi, K. Quispe Huaypar, M. Montoya Pillco, F.D. Ccori Álvarez, S. Diaz, B.J. Enquist, and Y. Malhi. (2016) Shifting foliar trait distributions at leaf to landscape scales on a tropical elevation gradient. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.14068.
Feakins, S.J., Peters, T., M.S. Wu, A. Shenkin, N. Salinas, C.A.J. Girardin, L.P. Bentley, B. Blonder, B.J. Enquist, R.E. Martin, G.P. Asner, and Y. Malhi. (2016) Production of leaf wax n-alkanes across a tropical forest elevation gradient. Organic Geochemistry, 100:89-100.
Feakins, S.J., L.P. Bentley , N. Salinas, A. Shenkin, B. Blonder, G. Goldsmith, C. Ponton, L. Arvin, M.S. Wu, T. Peters, A.J. West, R.E. Martin, B.J. Enquist, G.P. Asner, and Y. Malhi. (2016) Plant biomarkers capture hydrogen isotopic gradients in precipitation from the Andes and Amazon. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 182:155-172.
Goldsmith, G.R., L.P. Bentley , A. Shenkin, N. Salinas, B. Blonder, R.E. Martin, R. Castro-Ccossco, P. Chambi-Porroa, S. Diaz, B.J. Enquist, G.P. Asner, and Y. Malhi. (2016) Variation in leaf wettability traits along a tropical montane elevation gradient. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.14121.
Neyret, M., L.P. Bentley, I. Oliveras, B. S. Marimon, B-H. Marimon, E. Almeida de Oliveira, F. Barbosa Passos, R. Castro Ccoscco, J. dos Santos, S. Matias Reis, P. S. Morandi, G. Rayme Paucar, A. Robles Cáceres, Y. Valdez Tejeira, Y. Yllanes Choque, N. Salinas, A. Shenkin, G. P. Asner, S. Diaz, B. J. Enquist, and Y. Malhi. (2016) Examining community assembly mechanisms across two contrasting tropical gradients using leaf mass per area. Ecology and Evolution, 6:5674-5689.
Bentley, L.P., J. Stegen, V. Savage, B. Enquist, D. Smith, E. von Allmen, J. Sperry, and P. Reich (2013) An empirical assessment of tree branching networks and implications for plant allometric scaling models. Ecology Letters, 16: 1069-1078.
Patrick, L., K. Ogle, and D. Tissue (2009) A hierarchical Bayesian approach for estimation of photosynthetic parameters of C3 plants. Plant, Cell, and Environment 32:1695-1709.
Patrick, L., K. Ogle, C. Bell, J. Zak, and D. Tissue (2009) Physiological responses of two contrasting plant species to precipitation variability are differentially regulated by soil moisture and nitrogen dynamics. Global Change Biology 15:1214-1229.