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Taylor Feild

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Research Interests

Evolutionary ecophysiology of plants

Research in the lab focuses on the evolution of ecophysiological mechanisms, primarily on the water relations and photosynthetic functions, in relation to structure in plants.  Most projects in the lab undertake a whole plant outlook in understanding the evolution of plant function through time. Currently, a major focus in the lab is on understanding the early diversification of flowering plants from an ecophysiological perspective.  Here we are investigating the early evolutionary diversification of xylem hydraulic mechanisms, leaf gas-exchange performance, flower water relations, and root biology.  For a more detailed look at the projects on-going in the lab, please see our lab web page.

Education

  • 2001- Ph.D., Harvard University

Selected Publications

  • Brodribb TJ, Feild TS  (in press) A surge in leaf photosynthetic capacity during early angiosperm diversification.  Ecology Letters
  • Hudson PJ*, J. Razanatsoa, Feild TS (in press) Xylem vessels as diversifiers of wood function: insights from Malagasy Canellales.  American Journal of Botany
  • Brodribb TJ, McAdam SAM**, Jordan GJ, Feild TS (2009) Evolution of stomatal responsiveness to CO2 and optimization of water-use efficiency among land plants.  New Phytologist 183:839-847.
  • Feild TS, Chatelet DS, Brodribb TJ (2009) Giant flowers of Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) are hydrated by the xylem.  Plant Physiology 150:1587-1597.
  • Feild TS, Chatelet DS, Brodribb TJ (2009) Ancestral xerophobia: A hypothesis on the whole plant ecophysiology of early angiosperms. Geobiology 7:237-264.
  • Boyce CK, Brodribb TJ, Feild TS, Zwieniecki MA (2009) Angiosperm leaf vein evolution was physiologically and environmentally transformative.  Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B
  • Feild TS (2009) Regeneration ecology of early angiosperm seeds and seedlings: integrating inferences from extant basal lineages and fossils.  In Leck MA, Parker VT, Simpson RL (eds).  Seedling ecology and Evolution.  Cambridge University Press.
  • Brodribb TJ, Feild TS (2008) The evolutionary significance of a flat-leaved Pinus in the Vietnamese rainforest.  New Phytologist 198:201-209 (cover article with commentary).
  • Feild TS, Balun L (2008) Xylem hydraulic and photosynthetic function of Gnetum (Gnetales) from Papua New Guinea.  New Phytologist 197: 665-675.
  • Feild TS, Arens NC (2007) The ecophysiology early angiosperms.  Plant, Cell, and Environment 30: 291 - 309.
  • Brodribb TJ, Feild TS, Jordan GJ (2007) Leaf maximum photosynthetic rate and venation are linked by hydraulics.  Plant Physiology 144:1890-1898.
  • Sperry JS, Hacke U, Feild TS, Sano, Sikkema E (2007) Hydraulic consequences of vessel evolution in angiosperms.  International Journal of Plant Sciences 168:1127-1139.
  • Hacke UG, Sperry JS, Feild TS, Sano Y, Sikkema E, Pittermann J (2007)  Water transport in vesselless angiosperms: conducting efficiency and cavitation safety.  International Journal of Plant Sciences 168:1113-1126.
Taylor Feild

Contact Information

Taylor Feild
Assistant Professor
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
569 Dabney Hall
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-1610

Phone: (865) 974-6041
Fax: (865) 974-6042
Email: tfeild@utk.edu