معرفی
Olivia Cope is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Whitworth University, specializing in plant-herbivore interactions and ecology. She holds a B.S. in Genetics and Plant Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously, she served as an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Wetzel Lab at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on intraspecific plant diversity, global change impacts, and the timing of species interactions, particularly in foundation tree species like trembling aspen. She investigates how plant ontogeny, competition, and environmental factors shape defense mechanisms and ecological outcomes.
Her educational background includes a strong foundation in genetics and plant biology, complemented by advanced studies in integrative biology. Her work bridges ecological and evolutionary perspectives, addressing questions about trait plasticity, defense trade-offs, and the consequences of climate change on plant-insect dynamics.
Cope’s research publications emphasize themes such as growth-defense trade-offs in forest trees, competitive responses, and the role of timing in plant defense strategies. Her studies use both field and lab-based approaches, often leveraging long-term datasets to analyze decadal-scale ecological patterns. She has presented her findings at major conferences like the Ecological Society of America Meeting and the Entomological Society of America Meeting.
As a faculty member, she contributes to Whitworth University’s biology department, mentoring students and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Her lab engages in innovative research on ecological resilience and plant-insect interactions, with ongoing projects exploring the impacts of heatwaves on milkweed and arthropod communities.
