Research interests
I’m broadly interested in the processes that structure ecological communities and connecting basic theory of these processes to applied ecology. Plant community assembly has been a common theme throughout my ecological research career, including both observational and experimental approaches, integrating evolutionary and ecological processes, exploring both above- and belowground drivers of species coexistence, and relating functional traits to species interactions and community structure. Within this framework, I’ve explored invasion and restoration ecology, phylogenetic community ecology, plant-soil feedbacks, and species coexistence mediated by environmental heterogeneity.
My ongoing projects involve biological invasions, especially ecology and management of non-native plants in both urban and wild contexts; ecology of New Zealand bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), the oldest land plants; and farmland sustainability assessment, with particular attention to incorporating scientific evidence into land management, policy, and decision-making.
Qualifications
Oregon State
PhD Zoology
2011
Publications
Brandt A, MacLeod C, Collins K 2017. Help develop an online tool for on-farm biodiversity assessment. NZ Sustainability Dashboard Research Summary 17/12, ARGOS. Pp. 1. http://www.nzdashboard.org.nz/uploads/2/3/7/3/23730248/biodiversity_tool_-_invitation_to_participate.pdf
Brandt A, MacLeod C, Collins K 2017. Developing a simple on-farm biodiversity assessment. NZ Sustainability Dashboard Research Summary 17/13. ARGOS. 4 p. http://www.nzdashboard.org.nz/uploads/2/3/7/3/23730248/biodiversity_tool_background.pdf
Brandt A, MacLeod C, Collins K 2017. Process to co-design an evidence-based biodiversity assessment tool. NZ Sustainability Dashboard Research Summary 17/14. ARGOS. 5 p. http://www.nzdashboard.org.nz/uploads/2/3/7/3/23730248/biodiversity_tool_methods_summary.pdf
Brandt A, MacLeod C 2017. How to frame a sustainability assessment question: comparing the approaches of two online tools. NZ Sustainability Dashboard Research Summary 17/08. ARGOS. 3 p. http://www.nzdashboard.org.nz/uploads/2/3/7/3/23730248/framing_assessment_questions_nzsd_research_summary_-_final.pdf
Brandt AJ, Lee WG, Tanentzap AJ, Hayman E, Fukami T, Anderson BJ 2017. Evolutionary priority effects persist in anthropogenically created habitats, but not through nonnative plant invasion. New Phytologist 215(2): 865–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14544
Brandt AJ, Tanentzap AJ, Leopold DR, Heenan PB, Fukami T, Lee WG 2016. Precipitation alters the strength of evolutionary priority effects in forest community assembly of pteridophytes and angiosperms. Journal of Ecology 104(6): 1673–1681. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12640
Tanentzap AJ, Brandt AJ, Smissen RD, Heenan PB, Fukami T, Lee WG 2015. When do plant radiations influence community assembly? The importance of historical contingency in the race for niche space. New Phytologist 207(2): 468–479. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13362