Elizabeth Crone

Ph.D. Duke University 1995
B.S. The College of William and Mary 1991

My research spans three broad areas, all of which are central to linking out conceptual knowledge of ecological processes to practical problems of conservation and restoration.

The first is understanding mechanisms regulating plant population dynamics, with particular emphasis on the importance of endogenous processes (e.g. life history constraints, density dependence) and interspecific interactions (e.g. herbivory, parasitism, pollination), relative to exogenous processes (e.g. resource availability and climate). Historically, the majority of plant ecologists have focused on exogenous processes to explain spatial and temporal variation in plant abundances, in spite of our extensive knowledge of potentially relevant endogenous processes and species interactions. Clearly, we will benefit by linking these disparate bodies of knowledge.

The second is linking dispersal behavior of animals to metapopulation dynamics. In particular, I am interested in how movement behavior and dispersal in actual populations affect the relationships among patch size, population dynamics, per capita dispersal rates, and the importance of different-sized patches for metapopulation persistence.

Finally, I am adapting novel quantitative methods for decision-making for biological conservation and ecological restoration. In these situations, there is usually some data available on which to base management decisions, but sample sizes are small and studies often unreplicated. I find approaches such as Bayesian and information theoretic methods, meta-analysis, and stochastic modeling promising, but there are no clear, general, answers to dealing with limited data.

Theoretical Ecology Lab Group

Current favorites

Crone, E. E. and C. B. Schultz, in review, Movement behavior at patch edges: Mechanism vs. pattern. (submitted to Ecology)

Lesica, P., R. Yurkewycz and E. E. Crone. 2006. Rare plants are common where you find them. American Journal of Botany 93:454-459.

Crone, E. E., L. Polansky and P. Lesica. 2005. Empirical models of pollen limitation, resource acquisition, and mast seeding by a bee-pollinated wildflower. American Naturalist 166:396-408.

Crone, E. E., D. Doak and J. Pokki. 2001. Ecological influences on the dynamics of a field vole metapopulation. Ecology 82:831-843.

Schultz, C. B. and E. E. Crone. 1998. Fire to restore butterfly habitat? A modeling approach to management tradeoffs for the Fender’s blue. Restoration Ecology 6:244-252.

Crone, E. E. 1997. Parental environmental effects and cyclical dynamics in plant populations. The American Naturalist 150: 708-729.

Complete list

McIntire, E. J., C. B. Schultz, and E. E. Crone. 2007. Designing a network for butterfly habitat restoration: where individuals, populations and landscapes interact. Accepted for publication in Journal of Applied Ecology

Williams, J. L. and E. E. Crone. 2007. The impact of invasive grasses on the population growth of Anemone patens, a long-lived native forb. Ecology 87:3200-3208.

Crone, E. E. and P. Lesica. 2006. Pollen and water limitation in Astragalus scaphoides, a plant that flowers in alternate years. Oecologia 150:40-49.

Maron, J. L. and E. E. Crone. 2006. Herbivory: effects on plant abundance, distribution and population growth. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 273:2575-2584

Lesica, P., R. Yurkewycz and E. E. Crone. 2006. Rare plants are common where you find them. American Journal of Botany 93:454-459.

Crone, E. E., L. Polansky and P. Lesica. 2005. Empirical Models of Pollen Limitation, Resource Acquisition, and Mast Seeding by a Bee-Pollinated Wildflower. American Naturalist 166:396-408.

Schultz, C. B. and E. E. Crone. 2005. Patch size and connectivity thresholds for butterfly habitat restoration. Conservation Biology 19:887-896

Moffatt, K. C., E. E. Crone, K. D. Holl, R. W. Scholrff, and B. A. Garrison. 2005. Comparing strategies to restore Riparia riparia (Bank Swallow) colonies along the Sacramento River, California. Restoration Ecology 3:391-402.

Winfree,R., J. Dushoff, E. E. Crone, C. B. Schultz, R. V. Budny, N. M. Williams and C. Kremen1. 2004. Testing Simple Indices of Habitat Proximity. American Naturalist 165: 707-717.

Holl, K. D. and E. E. Crone. 2004. Applicability of landscape and island biogeography theory to restoration of riparian understorey plants. Journal of Applied Ecology 41:922-933

Irvine, R. L., E. E. Crone, L. J. Jackson, and E. A. MacIsaac, 2004. Does scale affect ecological model predictions? A test with lake responses to fertilization. Ecological Applications 14:1178-1188.

Crone, E. E. and P. Lesica, 2004. Causes of synchronous flowering in Astragalus scaphoides, an iteroparous perennial plant. Ecology 85:1944-1954.

Holl, K. D., E. E. Crone and C. B. Schultz. 2003. Understanding landscape processes through ecological restoration. BioScience 53:491-502.

Crone, E. E. and C. B. Schultz. 2003. Minimum patch size for butterfly population persistence. in: C. Boggs, W. Watt, and P. Ehrlich (eds) Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight: Butterflies as Model Study Systems. University of Chicago Press.

Golet, G.H., D.L. Brown, E.E. Crone, G.R. Geupel, S.E. Greco, K.D. Holl, K.A. Hoover, D.E. Jukkola, G.M. Kondolf, E.W. Larsen, F.K. Ligon, R.A. Luster, M.P. Marchetti, N. Nur, B.K. Orr, D.R. Peterson, M.E. Power, W.E. Rainey, M.D. Roberts, J.G. Silveira, S.L. Small, J.C. Vick, D.S. Wilson, and D.M. Wood. 2003. Using science to evaluate restoration efforts and ecosystem health on the Sacramento River Project, California. In PM Faber (editor), Proceedings of the Riparian Habitat and Floodplains Conference, March 12-25, 2001, Sacramento, CA. University of California Press.

LaMontagne, J., R. L. Irvine and E. E. Crone. 2002. Spatial patterns of population regulation in sage grouse (Centrocercus spp.) population viability analysis. Journal of Animal Ecology 71:672-682.

Crone, E. E. 2001. Is survivorship a better fitness surrogate than fecundity? Evolution 55:2611-2614.

Crone, E. E., D. Doak and J. Pokki. 2001. Ecological influences on the dynamics of a field vole metapopulation. Ecology 82:831-843.

Schultz, C. B. and E. E. Crone. 2001. Edge-mediated dispersal behavior in a prairie butterfly. Ecology 82:1879-1892.

Harding, E. K., E. E.Crone, B. D. Elderd, J. Hoekstra, A. J. McKerrow, J. D. Perrine, L. J. Rissler, A.G. Stanley, E. L. Walters and NCEAS HCP Working Group. 2001. Use of Science in Habitat Conservation Plans. Conservation Biology 15:488-500.

Molofsky, J., J. Lanza, and E. E. Crone. 2000. Effects of plant litter feedback on density dependent population dynamics. Oecologia 124:522-528.

Crone, E. E., and C. G. Jones. 1999. The dynamics of carbon-nutrient balance: effects of cottonwood acclimation to short- and long-term shade on beetle feeding preference. Journal of Chemical Ecology 25:636-656.

Schultz, C. B. and E. E. Crone. 1998. Fire to restore butterfly habitat? A modeling approach to management tradeoffs for the Fender’s blue. Restoration Ecology 6:244-252.

Buck. W. R., R. C. Harris, A. J. Shaw, M. D. Piercey-Normore, A. Tabaee, J. Antonovics and E. E. Crone. 1998. Unusual lichens under electricity pylons on zinc-enriched soil. The Bryologist 102: 130-132

Crone, E. E. and J. Molofsky. 1998. Message in a bottle? Utility and limitations of recent ecological “bottle experiments”. Integrative Biology 1:209-214.

Crone, E. E., 1997. Delayed density dependence and the stability of interacting populations and subpopulations. Theoretical Population Biology 51:67-76.

Crone, E. E. 1997. Parental environmental effects and cyclical dynamics in plant populations. The American Naturalist 150: 708-729.

Crone, E. E., and D. R. Taylor. 1996. Complex dynamics in experimental populations of an annual plant, Cardamine pensylvanica. Ecology 77:289-299