biological invasions

Anton Bekkerman joined the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University as an Assistant Professor of Economics after receiving his Ph.D.
in Economics from North Carolina State University in 2009. His research interests include price analysis in grain markets, the economic impacts of invasive species, and applied
econometrics with a concentration on spatial modeling. Anton’s recent works focus on evaluating market-based risk management of invasive species, modeling grain price

The primary focus of the research in my lab is on how organisms interact with each other, but we are interested in all aspects of ecology. These interactions include direct interactions, such as competition for resources, allelopathy, and facilitation; and indirect interactions mediated by herbivores, soil microbes, and other competitors. I continue to study facilitative interactions among plants, mostly alpine habitats and in collaboration with the international Alpine Pals research group.

Elizabeth (Liz) Galli-Noble
Director
Center for Invasive Plant Management
Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Department
Montana State University-Bozeman

Dr. Bruce Maxwell is Professor of Aplied Plant Ecology/Agroecology in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Science at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. He was Interim Department Head in 2008 and 2009. Bruce is a native of Montana from Hamilton. He attended MSU for a B.S. Degree in Botany and following a Peace Corps experience, received a M.S. Degree in Agronomy. Bruce returned to Montana State University in 1992 from the University of Minnesota where he was Assistant Professor of Weed Ecology in the Agronomy and Plant Genetics Department.

My research focuses on three primary areas: 1) effects of large-scale disturbance on understory plants and trees, 2) conceptual basis for restoration ecology, and 3) efficacy and ecological impacts of restoration practices. In addition to my research contributions, I serve as the Director of the College of Forestry and Conservation’s Wildlands Restoration Program and teach its five-course sequence on the science and practice of restoration.

My primary research interest is to advance community ecology through studies of biological invasions and to use this information to improve invasive species management. Biological invasions serve as grand natural experiments that provide unique opportunities to view the processes that structure ecological communities. Even in the most recently assembled natural communities organisms have had hundreds or thousands of years to interact and sort themselves into the modern assemblages we see.

My work focuses on planning and coordination of multi disciplinary studies in applied ecology and resource management with emphasis on invasive plant control, invasive aquatic plants, and native plant community restoration. I often examine the impacts of exotic species on biological diversity. Integrated weed management methods (herbicides, burning, biocontrols, revegetation) alter the competitive interactions between the target weeds and non-target natives. Related work includes exotic plant biogeography and GIS applications in weed management.