Local and landscape genetic processes in oaks

Several major findings have emerged from our studies of remnant stands of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) in northeastern Illinois. My former graduate students, Beverly Dow and Kathleen Craft, and I have found that over half of the acorns from isolated stands are pollinated by trees outside the stand, at great distances. Within the stand, pollinations occurred nearly at random. We have clearly demonstrated that the mating system of the bur oak, and presumably other wind-pollinated trees, is extraordinarily efficient at producing highly outbred individuals and ensuring long distance pollination. We have also been investigating patterns of hybridization among various white oak species, both in the Midwest and in California where I am collaborating with Dr. Walter Koenig studying valley oak, Quercus lobata, and blue oak, Quercus douglassii. I have just begun working on the threatened island oak, Quercus tomentella, found only on the California Channel Islands.

Conservation Genetics of the Anacapa Island Deer Mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus anacapae 

The eight California Channel Islands are each home to an endemic subspecies of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus. I studied the evolutionary history of the Channel Island deer mice for my dissertation, and my lab is currently studying the Anacapa Island deer mice as part of a program to reestablish deer mice following the eradication of nonnative rats from the island. With my graduate student Fusun Ozer and our collaborator Holly Gellerman, we are tracking the demographic and genetic recovery of deer mice following their reintroduction to Anacapa island.

Additional Projects

Studies of species boundaries and phylogenetics of the marine bivalve Isognomonidae (John Wilk)

Conservation Genetics of Endangered Illinois Shiners, Notropis heterodon and N. heterolepis (Fusun Ozer)

Population Genetics of Reintroduced Peregrine Falcons (Isabel Caballero)

Population Genetics of Penstemon rostriflorus and implications for restoration (Andrea Tietmeyer Kramer)

Temporal and spatial genetic structure of prairie plants across a fragmented landscape (Jennifer Ison)

Ashley Lab

Ashley lab lunch and Sheila's birthday, Lalo's, May 7, 2009


Saji Abraham, Postdoctoral Researcher (sajita@uic.edu)


Janet Backs, Doctoral Student (jbacks@uic.edu)


Isabel Caballero, Doctoral Student (icabal2@uic.edu)


Jennifer Ison, Doctoral Student (ison@uic.edu)


Emi Kuroiwa, Doctoral Student (ekuroi2@uic.edu) 


Sheila Langosch, Master Student (slangosc@uic.edu) 


Fusun Ozer, Doctoral Student (fozer1@uic.edu) 


John Wilk, Doctoral Student (jwilk@uic.edu)


David Zaya, Master Student (dzaya1@uic.edu)

Ashley Lab Alumni

Dr. Kathleen Craft, Concordia University Chicago
Dr. Beverly Dow, McHenry County College
Dr. Kevin Feldheim, Pritzker Laboratory, Field Museum of Natural History
Dr. Ken Jones, University of Georgia
Dr. Andrea Tietmeyer Kramer, Chicago Botanic Garden
Dr. Roselis Mazurek
Dr. Jane E. Norman
James Norton, Northwestern University
Helena Puche, Howe Lab, UIC
Dr. Bill Strausberger, Field Museum
Dr. Oliver Pergams, University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Jose (Pepé) Tello, Long Island University
Ramlah Zainudin, UNIMAS, Malaysia