Julia N. Eckberg
About Me
I am a plant community ecologist broadly interested in the ecological processes that shape biodiversity and ecosystem function in terrestrial systems. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Howard Lab at the University of Michigan, I am exploring how long-term resource manipulation influences contemporary plant resistance and tolerance to insect herbivory in Solidago altissima. Previously, I completed my PhD (also at the University of Michigan!) investigating how the dominant plant species Solidago canadensis, insect herbivores, and precipitation — both independently and in combination — affect above- and below-ground ecosystem functions, as well as the structure of old-field plant communities across Michigan. As an undergraduate researcher at Kenyon College, I studied the macroecology of North and South American bryophytes and the plasticity of plant defense, particularly cyanogensis. If I’m not at work, I’m probably at the Ann Arbor District Library making some amateur art.