Jason Martina

Courses

Ecology and Management of Aquatic Macrophytes (BIO 7426)
Wetland Plant Ecology and Management (BIO 4429)
Global Change Biology (BIO 4351I/5351I)

Research Interests

Wetland Ecology, Plant Ecology, Invasion Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Restoration Ecology 

We study global change in wetlands and grasslands. We use field, laboratory and computational modeling techniques to test hypotheses concerning some of the most important drivers of global change, such as biological invasion, nitrogen deposition and climate change. We look at plant invasions holistically, from the species traits and external drivers that allow these aggressive species to dominant, to what effects their dominance has on the ecosystem, with the overall goal of using newly gained information to manage their populations and restore invaded ecosystems. While we mainly focus on the causes and consequences of biological invasion, we also study nutrient pollution, disturbance, endangered species and restoration of degraded ecosystems.
 
Some questions we address include: How do global change drivers (such as eutrophication, disturbance, etc.) affect plant community composition? Why do certain species become invasive? What physiological, reproductive, and morphological traits allow for their competitive superiority? What are the consequences of invasion to the native biota and how do these changes affect nutrient cycling and carbon storage? What restoration techniques best control their populations?

Selected Publications

Ladouceur, E., S.A. Blowes, J.M. Chase, A.T. Clark, M. Garbowski, J. Alberti, C.A. Arnillas, J.D. Bakker, I.C. Barrio, S. Bharath, E.T. Borer, L.A. Brudvig, M.W. Cadotte, Q. Chen, S.L. Collins, C.R. Dickman, I. Donohue, G. Du, A. Ebeling, N. Eisenhauer, P.A. Fay, N. Hagenah, Y. Hautier, A. Jentsch, I.S. Jónsdóttir, K. Komatsu, A. MacDougall, J.P. Martina, J.L. Moore, J.W. Morgan, P.L. Peri, S.A. Power, Z. Ren, A.C. Risch, C. Roscher, M.A. Schuchardt, E.W. Seabloom, C.J. Stevens, G.F. Veen, R. Virtanen, G.M. Wardle, P.A. Wilfahrt, W.S. Harpole. 2022. Linking changes in species composition and biomass in a globally distributed grassland experiment. Ecology Letters 25:2699-2712

Jameson, E.E., Elgersma, K.J., J.P. Martina, W.S. Currie, and D.E. Goldberg. 2022. Size-dependent analyses provide insights into the reproductive allocation and plasticity of invasive and native Typha. Biological Invasions https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02881-9

Carroll, O., E. Batzer, S. Bharath, E.T. Borer, S. Campana, E. Esch, Y. Hautier, T. Ohlert, E.W. Seabloom, P.B. Adler, J.D. Bakker, L. Biederman, M.N. Bugalho, M. Caldeira, Q. Chen, K. Davies, P.A. Fay, J.M.H. Knops, K. Komatsu, J.P. Martina, K.S. McCann, J.L. Moore, J.W. Morgan, T.O. Muraina, B. Osborne, A.C. Risch, C. Stevens, P.A. Wilfhart, L. Yahdjian, and A.S. MacDougall. 2022. Nutrient identity modifies the destabilizing effects of eutrophication in grasslands. Ecology Letters 25: 754-765

Sharp, S.J., K.J. Elgersma, J.P. Martina, and W.S. Currie. 2021. Hydrologic flushing rates drive nitrogen cycling and plant invasion in freshwater coastal wetland model. Ecological Applications 31(2):e02233.10.1002/eap.2233 

Yuan, Y., K.J. Elgersma, J.P. Martina, S. Sharp and W.S. Currie. 2021. Global warming potential driven by nitrogen inflow and hydroperiod in a model of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. JGR – Biogeosciences 126, e2021JG006242. https://doi. org/10.1029/2021JG006242

Novak, E.N., M. Bertelsen, R. Davis, D.M. Grobert, K.G. Lyons, J.P. Martina, M. McCaw, M. O’Toole, J.W. Veldman. 2021. Season of prescribed fire determines grassland restoration outcomes after fire exclusion and overgrazing. Ecosphere 12(9):e03730. 10.1002/ecs2.3730

Weinstein, C., L. Bourgeau-Chavez, S.L. Martin, W.S. Currie, K. Grantham, Q.F. Hamlin, D.W. Hyndman, K.P. Kowalski, J.P. Martina, D. Pearsall. 2021. Enhancing Great Lakes coastal ecosystems research by initiating engagement between scientists and decision-makers. Journal of Great Lakes Research 47: 1235-1240

Goldberg, D.E., E.E. Batzer, K.J. Elgersma, J.P. Martina, and J. Klimesova. 2020. Allocation to clonal growth: critical questions and protocols to answer them. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 43:125511

Borer, E.T, W.S. Harpole, P.B. Adler, M.N. Bugalho, M.W. Cadotte, M.C. Caldeira, M.S. Campana, A. Carlos-Albert, C.R. Dickman, T.L. Dickson, I. Donohue, A. Eskelinen, P.A. Fay, J.L. Firn, P.B. Graff, D.S. Gruner, R.W. Heckman, A.M. Koltz, K.J. Komatsu, L.S. Lannes, A.S. MacDougall, J.P. Martina, J.L. Moore, B. Mortensen, R. Ochoa-Hueso, H. Olde Venterink, S.A. Power, J.N. Price, A.C. Risch, M. Sankaran, M. Schütz, J. Sitters, C.J. Stevens, R. Virtanen, P.A. Wilfahrt, and E.W. Seabloom. 2020. Nutrients cause grassland biomass to outpace herbivory. Nature Communications 11: 6036. (link to pdf)

Siciliano-Martina, L.M. and J.P. Martina. 2020. Shifting barriers to the acceptance of evolution in an underrepresented student group. International Journal of Science Education 42: 2205-2223

Siciliano-Martina, L.M. and J.P. Martina. 2018. Stress and social behaviors of maternally-deprived captive giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). Zoo Biology 37: 80-89.

Batzer, E.E., J.P. Martina, K.J. Elgersma and D.E. Goldberg. 2017. Clonal plant allocation to daughter ramets is a simple function of parent size across species and nutrient levels. Plant Ecology 218: 1299-1311 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0769-z.

Goldberg, D.E., J.P. Martina, K.J. Elgersma, and W.S. Currie. 2017. Plant size and competitive dynamics along nutrient gradients. American Naturalist 190: 229-243.

Elgersma, K.J., J.P. Martina, W.S. Currie, and D.E. Goldberg. 2017. Effectiveness of cattail (Typha spp.) management techniques depends on exogenous nitrogen inputs. Elementa 5:19, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.147.

Martina, J.P., Currie, W.S., Goldberg, D.E., and K.L. Elgersma. 2016. Nitrogen loading leads to increased carbon accretion in both invaded and uninvaded coastal wetlands. Ecosphere 7(9): e01459.10.1002/ec2.1459.

Elgersma, K.J., Wildova, R., Martina, J.P., Currie, W.S. and D.E. Goldberg. 2015. Does clonal resource translocation relate to invasiveness of Typha taxa? Results from a common garden experiment. Aquatic Botany 126: 48-53.

Martina, J.P., Hamilton, S.K., Turetsky, M.R. and C.J. Phillippo. 2014. Organic matter stocks increase with degree of invasion in temperate inland wetlands. Plant and Soil 385: 107-123.

Currie, W.S., Goldberg, D.E., Martina, J.P., Wildova, R., Farrer, E., and K. Elgersma. 2014. Emergence of nutrient-cycling feedbacks related to plant size and invasion success in a wetland community-ecosystem model. Ecological Modelling 282: 69-82.

Martina, J.P. and C.N. von Ende. 2013. Increased spatial dominance in high nitrogen, saturated soil due to clonal architecture plasticity of the invasive wetland plant, Phalaris arundinacea. Plant Ecology 214: 1443-1453.

Martina, J.P. and C.N. von Ende. 2012. Highly plastic response in morphological and physiological traits to light, soil-N and moisture in the model invasive plant, Phalaris arundinacea. Environmental and Experimental Botany 82: 43-53.

Ball, B.A., Kominoski J.S., Adams, H.E., Jones, S.E., Kane, E.S., Loecke, T.D., Mahaney, W.M., Martina, J.P., Prather, C.M., Robinson, T.M.P., and C.T. Solomon. 2010. Direct and terrestrial vegetation-mediated effects of environmental change on aquatic ecosystem processes. Bioscience 60: 590-601.

Martina, J.P. and C.N. von Ende. 2008. Correlation of soil nutrient characteristics and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea: Poaceae) abundance in northern Illinois, USA. American Midland Naturalist 160: 430-437.

Please see faculty member’s CV or website for a complete list of publications and additional information.