Ben Sikes

The vast world below ground has been referred to as the poor man’s tropical rain forest. Ben studies community ecology of soil microorganisms. Research in the lab explores this diversity and interactions among species there as well as how soil microbial ecology cascades up to aboveground communities and ecosystem processes. He focuses mainly on fungi (and some bacteria) that live in soils, and is interested in understanding the dynamics of microbe-plant symbioses, the role of soil microorganisms in community assembly (above and below ground) and the potential to leverage soil microbes in restoration. The lab uses a combination of study methods in the field, greenhouse and in controlled lab conditions, commonly employing a variety of tools including fungal culturing, next generation DNA sequencing and modeling.