Professor Emeritus
Email: esimms@berkeley.edu
Phone: 510-847-5770
Lab Webpage: http://www.simmslab.org
Research Description
I am fascinated by evolution in natural populations. I study how contemporary evolution affects ecological interactions between plants and other organisms, such as herbivores, pathogens, and mutualists. I seek to understand which mechanisms influence the evolution of traits important to biotic interactions. I also apply ecological and evolutionary theory to improve plant conservation, control of invasive species, and ecosystem services.
Current lab members are studying
- how cooperation traits in legume hosts evolve in response to natural selection and how these host changes influence rhizobium populations
- population genetic structure of N-fixing Bradyrhizobium of native and invasive populations of Genista monspessulana, a shrub invading central California landscapes.
- population genetic structure of N-fixing Bradyrhizobium of native California legume populations.
- population genetic structure and host ranges of bacteriophages that attack Bradyrhizobium populations associating with native and invasive legumes
- the spatial and temporal structure of terrestrial microbiomes
Past lab members have studied
- natural selection on mutualistic traits in legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria
- evolution of host range in rhizobiophages
- evolution in a community of figs and fig-wasps
- natural selection on ecological and reproductive traits in selfing and outcrossing populations of annual lupines
- cooperation between legume hosts and rhizobium populations
- the role of heavy metal sequestration in herbivore defense of serpentine plants
- population genetics of clonally reproducing orchids, inbreeding depression in Lobelia cardinalis
- symbiotic specificity of orchid-mycorrhizal interactions
- the evolutionary benefits of dormancy to terrestrial orchids
- the evolution of seed dispersal in Cakile edentula
Selected Publications
2023. Van Cauwenberghe, J. and E. L. Simms. How might bacteriophages shape biological invasions? mBio 14(5):e01886-23 9 October. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01886-23.
2020. Taylor, B. N., E. L. Simms, K. J. Komatsu. More than a functional group: diversity within the legume-rhizobia mutualism and its relationship with ecosystem function. Diversity 12.2:50. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/2/50/pdf
2019. Komatsu, K. J. and E. L. Simms. Invasive legume management strategies differentially impact mutualist abundance and benefit to native and invasive hosts. Restoration Ecology (Nov 2019). DOI:10.1111/rec.13081
2017. La Pierre, K., E. L. Simms, M. Tariq, M. Zafar, Porter, S. S. Invasive legumes can associate with many mutualists of native legumes, but usually do not. Ecology and Evolution 1-13 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3310. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.3310
2014. Porter, S. S. and E. L. Simms. Selection for cheating across disparate environments in the legume-rhizobium mutualism. Ecology Letters 17(9):1121-1129. doi:10.1111/ele.12318.
2014. Ehinger, M., T. J. Mohr, J. B. Starcevich, J. L. Sachs, S. S. Porter, E. L. Simms. Specialization-generalization trade-offs in a Bradyrhizobium symbiosis with wild legume hosts. BMC Ecology 14:8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-14-8
2012. Jandér, K. C., E. A. Herre, and E. L. Simms. Precision of host sanctions in the fig tree – fig wasp mutualism: consequences for uncooperative symbionts. Ecology Letters 15(2):1362 - 1369. DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01857.x
2011. Akçay, E. and E. L. Simms. Negotiation, sanctions and context dependency in the legume-rhizobium mutualism. American Naturalist 178(1):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1086/659997
2010. Sachs, J. L., M. O. Ehinger, and E. L. Simms. Origins of cheating and loss of symbiosis in wild Bradyrhizobium. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23(5):1075 – 1089. doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.01980.x
2009. Sachs, J. L., S. W. Kembel, A. H. Lau, and E. L. Simms. In situ phylogenetic structure and diversity of wild Bradyrhizobium communities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 75(14):4727 - 4735. 10.1128/AEM.00667-09
2008. Sachs, J. L., and E. L. Simms. The origins of uncooperative rhizobia. Oikos 117(7):961-966. doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16606.x
2008. Franks, S. J., P. D. Pratt, and E. L. Simms. Selection on herbivory resistance traits and competitive ability in an invasive plant. American Naturalist 171(5):678 - 691. https://doi.org/10.1086/587078
2007. Palomino, M. T., P. G. Kennedy, E. L. Simms. Nickel hyperaccumulation as an anti-herbivore trait: considering the role of tolerance to damage. Plant and Soil 293:189-195. doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9236-2
2007. Shefferson, R. P. and E. L. Simms. Costs and benefits of fruiting to future reproduction in two dormancy-prone orchids. Journal of Ecology 95:865-875. doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01263.x
2006. Sachs, J. L. and E. L. Simms. Pathways to mutualism breakdown. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 21(10):585-592. doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.06.018
2006. Simms, E. L., D. L. Taylor, J. Povich, R. P. Shefferson, J. L. Sachs, Y. Tausczik, M. Urbina. An empirical test of partner choice mechanisms in a legume-rhizobium interaction. Proc. Royal Soc. Series B 273 (1582): 77-81. doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3292
2005. Juenger, T. E., J. K. McKay, N. Hausmann, J. J. B. Keurentjes, S. Sen, K. A. Stowe, T. E. Dawson, E. L. Simms, J. H. Richards. Identification and characterization of QTL underlying whole-plant physiology in Arabidopsis thaliana: δ13C, stomatal conductance, and transpiration efficiency. Plant Cell and Environment 28 (6): 697-708. doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2004.01313.x
2005. Hausmann, J., T. E. Juenger, S. Sen, K. A. Stowe, T. E. Dawson, E. L. Simms. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting δ13C and response to differential water availability in Arabidopsis thaliana. Evolution 59(1):81-96. doi.org/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb00896.x
2005. Juenger, T., Sen, S., Stowe, K. and E. L. Simms. Epistasis and gene-environment interaction for quantitative trait loci affecting flowering time in Arabidopsis. Genetica 123(1-2):87-105. doi.org/10.1007/s10709-003-2717-1
2004. Franks, S. J., P. D. Pratt, F. A. Dray, E. L. Simms. Selection for resistance in invasive plants. Weed Technology 18:1486-1489. doi.org/10.1614/0890-037X(2004)018[1486:SFRIIP]2.0.CO;2
2003. Shefferson, R. P., J. Proper, S. R. Beissinger, and E. L. Simms. Life history trade-offs in a rare orchid: The costs of flowering, dormancy and sprouting. Ecology 84(5):1199 - 1206. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2003)084[1199:LHTIAR]2.0.CO;2
2003. Denison, R. F., C. Bledsoe, M. Kahn, F. O’Gara, E. L. Simms, L. Thomashow. Cooperation in the rhizosphere and the "free rider" problem. Ecology 84(4):838-845.
2002. Alpert, P. A. and E. L. Simms. The relative advantages of plasticity and fixity in different environments: when is it good for a plant to adjust? Evolutionary Ecology 16(3):285-297.
2002. Simms, E. L. and D. L. Taylor. Partner choice in nitrogen-fixation mutualisms of legumes and rhizobia. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42(2):369-380.
2002. West, S. A., E. T. Kiers, E. L. Simms, and R. F. Denison. Nitrogen fixation and the stability of the legume-rhizobium mutualism. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 269:685-694.
2001. Simms, E. L. Defining tolerance as a norm of reaction. Evolutionary Ecology 14:563-570.
2001. Chase, J. M., M. A. Leibold, and E. L. Simms. Plant tolerance and resistance in food webs: Community-level predictions and evolutionary implications. Evolutionary Ecology 14:289-314.
2001. Maron, J. L. and E. L. Simms. Rodent-limited establishment of bush lupine: field experiments on the cumulative effect of granivory. Journal of Ecology 89:578-588.
2000. Bever, J. D. and E. L. Simms. Evolution of nitrogen fixation in spatially structured populations of Rhizobium. Heredity 85:366-372.
2000. Stowe, K. A., R. J. Marquis, C. G. Hochwender, and E. L. Simms. The evolutionary ecology of tolerance to consumer damage. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31:565-595.
1998. Simms, E. L. and J. D. Bever. Evolutionary dynamics of rhizopine within spatially structured rhizobium populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 265:1713-1719.
1997. Maron, J. L. and E. L. Simms. Habitat-dependent effects of seed predation on seed bank size and seedling recruitment of bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus). Oecologia 111:76-83.
1996. Simms, E. L. and J. K. Triplett. Paternal effects in inheritance of a pathogen resistance trait in Ipomoea purpurea. Evolution 50(6):2178-2186.
1996. Simms, E. L. and M. A. Bucher. Pleiotropic effects of flower color intensity on herbivore performance on Ipomoea purpurea. Evolution 50:957-963.
1995. Simms, E. L. and T. Vision. Pathogen-induced systemic resistance in Ipomoea purpurea. Oecologia (Berlin) 102:494-500.
1994. Simms, E. L. and J. Triplett. Costs and benefits of plant responses to disease: Resistance and tolerance. Evolution 48:1973-1985.
1993. Simms, E. L. and M. D. Rausher. Patterns of selection on phytophage resistance in Ipomoea purpurea. Evolution 47:970-976.
1993. Rausher, M. D., K. Iwao, E. L. Simms, N. Ohsaki, and D. Hall. Induction and the cost of resistance in Ipomoea purpurea. Ecology 74:20-29.
1992. Fritz, R. S. and E. L. Simms (eds.). Plant Resistance: Ecology, Evolution and Genetics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
1992. Simms, E. L. Costs of resistance to herbivory. Pages 392-425 in R. S. Fritz, and E. L. Simms (eds.), Plant Resistance: Ecology, Evolution and Genetics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
1992. Simms, E. L. and M. D. Rausher. Uses of quantitative genetics for studying the evolution of plant resistance. Pages 42-68 in R. S. Fritz, and E. L. Simms (eds.), Plant Resistance: Ecology, Evolution and Genetics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
1990. Simms, E. L. Examining selection on the multivariate phenotype: plant resistance to herbivores. Evolution 44:1177-1188.
1989. Rausher, M. D. and E. L. Simms. The evolution of resistance to herbivory in Ipomoea purpurea. I. Attempts to detect stabilizing selection. Evolution 43:563-572.
1989 Simms, E. L. and M. D. Rausher. The evolution of resistance to herbivory in Ipomoea purpurea. II. Natural selection by insects and costs of resistance. Evolution 43:573-585.
1987. Simms, E. L. and M. D. Rausher. Costs and benefits of plant resistance to herbivory. American Naturalist 130:570-581.
1987. Simms, E. L. The effect of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on the growth, reproduction, and nutrient dynamics of two ericaceous shrubs. Oecologia 71:541-547.