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photo of Dean of Academics, Dr. Laura Spence, standing in front of a green hedge and a birch tree with white bark in spring time

Laura Spence

She / Her

Dean of Academics & Faculty in Ecology

802-586-7711 ext 116 [email protected]

“All the variety, charm and beauty of life are made up of light and shade” — Leo Tolstoy

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Laura Spence, Ph.D., is originally from South Shropshire, England, a sheep-grazed land reminiscent of the Vermont of 150 years ago. Laura’s journey from Shropshire to the Northwoods, via New Zealand and Mongolia, has been one always in pursuit of the study of plant and fungal ecology. Her particular research interests lie in the interaction between plant communities and aspects of global change such as climate change and invasive species. Her Ph.D. research took her to the mountain beech forests of the Southern Alps, New Zealand, where she investigated the roles of forest dynamics, natural disturbances and mycorrhizal fungi on the invasive spread of an exotic understorey herbaceous weed. Following this, she joined the PIRE Mongolia project that investigated the ecological consequences of climate change and grazing pressures by nomadic pastoralism in northern Mongolia.

Research interests: vegetation response to climate change; forest understorey invasion; native and exotic species dynamics; consequences of rising deer populations; interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and invasive plants; fairy rings, amphistomaty; plant functional traits


Profile

Award Institution
PhD University of Cambridge
BA University of Cambridge
Presentations
Scheimreif, K, LA Spence, DA Gilligan, R Smyth & P Cenkl (2014) Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Central Mongolia: Gauging the Knowledge of Locals with Three Native Medicinal Plants. The Mongolia Society Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Spence, LA, P Liancourt, B Boldgiv, BR Helliker, PS Petraitis, & BB Casper. Climate change and grazing interact to affect flower production in the Mongolian steppe. (2013) Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Spence, LA, JV Ross, RB Allen, SK Wiser & DA Coomes (2012) Patterns and Process of Plant Invasion: Hieracium invasion into New Zealand forest understorey. Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, DE, USA.
Spence, LA (2012) Deer management in the United Kingdom. Dept. of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA.
Spence, LA, IA Dickie & DA Coomes (2011) Mycorrhizal fungi as determinants of plant invasion: case study in New Zealand mountain beech forest? Dept. of Biology, West Chester University, PA, USA
Dickie, IA, J Diaz & LA Spence (2011). Belowground interactions in plant invasions. Santiago, Chile.
Spence, LA, JV Ross, RB Allen, SK Wiser & DA Coomes (2010) The value of long-term ecological monitoring: Insights into closed-canopy forest invasion in New Zealand Dept. of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA.
Spence, LA, RB Allen & DA Coomes (2008). Natural disturbance facilitates understorey invasion in Nothofagus forest in New Zealand. (Prize winning) British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Imperial College London, UK
Spence, LA, RB Allen, SK Wiser & DA Coomes (2008). Patterns and predictors of plant invasion in New Zealand Nothofagus forest. Postgraduate Ecology Forum, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Publications
Spence L.A., Liancourt P., Boldgiv B., Petraitis P.S., & Casper B.B (2015) Short-term manipulation of precipitation in Mongoian steppe shows vegetation influenced more by timing than amount of rainfall. Journal of Vegetation Science.
Liancourt, P., B. Boldgiv, D. Song, L. A. Spence, B. R. Helliker, B. B. Casper, & P. S. Petraitis (2015) Leaf-trait plasticity and species vulnerability to climate change in a Mongolian steppe. Global Change Biology 21(9): 3489-3498
Spence L.A., Liancourt P., Boldgiv B., Petraitis P.S., & Casper B.B. (2014) Climate change and grazing interact to alter flowering patterns in the Mongolian steppe. Oecologia 175(1): 251-260
Liancourt, P., L. A. Spence, D. S. Song, A. Lkhagva, A. Sharkuu, B. Boldgiv, B. R. Helliker, B. B. Casper, & P. S. Petraitis (2013) Plant response to climate change varies with topography, interactions with neighbours, and ecotype. Ecology 94(2): 444-453
Liancourt, P., L. A. Spence, B. Boldgiv, A. Lkhagva, B. R. Helliker, B. B. Casper, & P. S. Petraitis (2012) Vulnerability of the northern Mongolian steppe to climate change: insights from flower production and phenology. Ecology 93: 815-824
Casper, B. B., R. Goldman, A. Lkhagva, B. R. Helliker, A. F. Plante, L. A. Spence, P. Liancourt, B. Boldgiv, & P. S. Petraitis (2012) Legumes mitigate ecological consequences of a topographic gradient in a northern Mongolian steppe. Oecologia 169: 85-94
Spence, L. A., I. A. Dickie, & D. A. Coomes (2011) Arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum potential: a mechanism promoting positive diversity-invasibility relationships? Mycorrhiza 21: 309-314
Spence, L. A., J. V. Ross, R. B. Allen, S. K. Wiser, and D. A. Coomes (2011) Disturbance affects short-term facilitation, but not long-term saturation, of exotic plant invasion in New Zealand forest. Proc. Royal Soc B. 278: 1457-1466

Accomplishments

Special Achievements:

  • 2008 British Ecological Society POST Fellowship to work at Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, London,UK
  • 2008 Anne Keymer Prize for best student presentation British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Imperial College, London, UK
  • 2005-2008 Domestic Research Fellowship, University of Cambridge
  • 2004 Albert Howard Travel Exhibition, University of Cambridge
  • 2003 Frank Smart Prize for Botany, University of Cambridge
  • 2003 Drewitt Prize for Ecology, University of Cambridge

Laura's Recent Blog Posts

New Flora

Book Review: New Flora of Vermont by Arthur V. Gilman

Posted June 6, 2016 by Laura Spence read more
Picture of a person smiling with a pen poised to write

Self-Designed Major Workshop


The Self-Designed Major Workshop serves to guide and support students who are planning to complete a self-designed major proposal. Students should be prepared to meet weekly, to share drafts of…

Foundations of Ecology


This course is an introductory survey of concepts in ecology with emphasis on ecosystem processes, community dynamics and biodiversity.  Topics include ecosystem energetics, nutrient cycling, global weather and climate, biomes…

Adrian Owens

A Sense of Place: Expedition I


This course is designed to help students develop a sense of place as they begin their Sterling college careers. The course allows participants to develop bonds with other incoming students…

Sterling College - Ecology

Conservation Biology (Seminar)


This course aims to prepare students to discuss major themes in Conservation Biology, critically examine a range of sources to draw informed conclusions, and creatively develop solutions for the future….

Field Ecology

Field Ecology


This course introduces students to the complete process of investigating field-based ecological questions.  In this class, students will pose questions about ecological phenomena, develop hypotheses, design experimental and/or observational studies,…

$500

Visit Sterling College and we will reimburse you up to $500 for travel expenses if you decide to enroll full time. So save your receipts!

Trustees Emeriti

David Behrend ’60
Susan C. Bryant
Marvin Brown, Alumni Parent ’85
Lewis Cohen
George J. Hill, M.D., D.Litt., Alumni Parent ’85
Jackson Kytle, Ph.D.
Peter Albert McKay, J.D. ’63
Virginia de Ganahl Russell
Mark Schroeder, Ph.D.

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Sterling College
PO Box 72
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(802) 586-7711

Sterling College uses education as a force to address critical ecological problems caused by unlimited growth and consumption that is destroying the planet as we have known it. Our mission is to advance ecological thinking and action through affordable experiential learning that prepares people to be knowledgeable, skilled, and responsible leaders in the communities in which they live.

Sterling acknowledges that the land on which we gather—places now known as Vermont and Kentucky—are the traditional and unceded territories of several indigenous peoples: the Abenaki in the North and the Shawnee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Osage people to the South. We also learn in-and-from a range of landscapes that belong to other indigenous peoples.

As we seek deep reciprocal relationships with nature, we respect and honor the place-based and cultural wisdom of indigenous ancestors and contemporaries. Words of acknowledgement and intention are just a first step. We must match them with acts of respect and repair.

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