Our Research

Applying an evolutionary lens to restoration

Our work highlights the importance of natural selection and local adaptation in maintaining diverse and resilient landscapes. We design evidence-based conservation and restoration strategies, while also training the workforce implementing the science on the ground. Our goal is to maintain plant diversity in Nevada’s wild lands, and to put diversity back where it has been lost.

Major Themes in Our Work

  • Natural selection in the wild

    Evolution is the force driving all of life on Earth. Our lab works to understand how environments are affecting the life and death of plants, and what plants need to thrive in a changing world.

  • Brute force for restoration

    Sometimes you don’t have time to understand why, you just have to ask, “what happens?” Our lab conducts brute force tests of practical restoration strategies, such as manipulating grazing regimes or herbicide treatments, and we measure the outcomes of our actions.

  • Weeds: What makes them tick?

    Weeds are everywhere. While supremely annoying, their explosive growth and easy care makes them excellent study organisms. Weeds could ultimately diversify and contribute to the next stages of life on earth, so as much as we wish they would go away, they are worthy of our time and study.

Featured Projects

  • Assisted migration for Great Basin restoration:

    As the climate warms, seedling establishment may become a limiting factor for native plant persistence. We are exploring assisted gene flow, moving populations from warmer, drier areas to maintain native plant diversity. Collaborating with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Walker Basin Conservancy, we focus on shrubs, grasses, and forbs from the Mojave and Great Basin. We hope to use our extensive plant collection in field studies to assess the success of southern populations in the northern Great Basin.

    Pilot work with Krascheninnikovia lanata shows strong evidence of local adaptation, but also potential for plants from the Mojave-Great Basin to survive in northern locations, potentially increasing diversity and the ability of this species to evolve in response to climate change.

  • Studying rapid evolution and natural selection in plants

    Studying rapid evolution and natural selection in plants is our core focus because we find evolution incredibly fascinating. We have explored native plant evolution in response to invasions, the evolution of invasive species in new environments, the traits under selection during restoration and seedling establishment, the main drivers of local adaptation in the Great Basin, and how evolutionary history influences community-level responses such as invasion resistance.

    We are often surprised by the traits under selection, and we will never run out of unanswered questions!

    Explore Our Relevant Papers

  • Rare species and learning from museum collections

    Restoring dry, invaded habitats can be disheartening, so we also focus on rare species and utilize our exceptional natural history collection for research that brings us joy.

    We conducted a thorough review of Nevada's rarest plants, identifying threats and the species most in need of surveys. This publication secured grant funding and ongoing surveys by the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage.

    Additionally, we leveraged our extensive plant collection to study changes in plant size over time. We also supported a postdoctoral researcher examining shifts in pollination networks over time, highlighting the invaluable role of museum collections in understanding change.

    Read the Papers

Why this work matters

Bridging science and practice to influence land management policy

The Leger Lab fosters close relationships with federal, state, and non-governmental organizations who manage land and plants across Nevada. In fact, many of our lab members go on to become the people in these important positions! This allows us to have an immediate and ever-growing connection between science and practice. Through applied conservation and restoration research, we help guide land management policy and practice.