Holly Beckett

I am a mangrove ecophysiology PhD Researcher/Postdoctoral Fellow.

In my research I investigate how plants adapt to their environment, to understand how plants like mangroves may respond under future climate change. Mangroves provide critical ecosystem services from protection of coastlines and coastal communities, to their role as a carbon sink. However, severe drought, heat and rising salinity are causing an increase in large-scale mangrove death.

I use a combined experimental approach to investigate how mangroves access water and manage water use across canopy organs, and how this confers drought and salinity tolerance. Doing so allows identification of vulnerabilities to water stress within and between plant tissues for better prediction of plant responses during extreme climate conditions, and identification of thresholds for survival.

EDUCATION

PhD candidate, The Australian National University
Biology Honours (first class), The Australian National University
Bachelor of Science, Majors in Biology and Science Communication, The Australian National University

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Plant biology, plant physiology, plant ecology, ecophysiology, mangroves, water relations, hydraulic vulnerability, salt tolerance, drought tolerance