Vachel Kraklow

Abstract Drought is a major driver of crop production loss, threatening global food security as the population rises toward 9 billion by 2050. Using a process-based crop model within an Earth system model, we assess drought-related impacts on maize, soybean, rice, and wheat production at global and country levels. We then develop a food insecurity index combining drought impacts with socio-economic factors.

Abstract While evolutionary biology traditionally focuses on the spread of mutations within populations, the dynamics of mutational spread within individuals, particularly in long-lived clonally, spreading organisms remain poorly understood. Here we examine the genetic structure of 'Pando', Earth's largest known quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone. We sequenced over 500 samples across Pando and neighboring clones, including multiple tissue types.

Abstract Understanding how mutations arise and spread through individuals and populations is fundamental to evolutionary biology. Most organisms have a life cycle with unicellular bottlenecks during reproduction. However, some organisms like plants, fungi, or colonial animals can grow indefinitely, changing the manner in which mutations spread throughout both the individual and the population.