she/her/hers

Assistant Professor

Organismal Biology & Ecology

Research Interests

Broadly, my research focuses on the interaction between plant reproductive ecology and the abiotic environment. Specifically, I investigate plant phenology, plant-pollinator networks, floral rewards, and breeding systems in the context of a changing climate. My current research focuses on tundra pollination ecology and plant reproduction. While plant phenological and growth responses to warming are widely documented in the Arctic, less is known about warming effects on plant-pollinator interactions and floral rewards, as well as the implications of these changes on plant and pollinator diversity. My students and I test questions such as: 

• How does plant-pollinator network size and structure change over the growing season as well as across habitat types?  

• How does warming affect the quantity and quality of floral rewards available to floral visitors?  

• How do nectar resources shift spatially and temporally throughout the growing season? 

• Do we find evidence for plant-pollinator synchrony as the climate warms, and if so, will plant reproductive output decrease in the absence of pollinators?  

Answers to these questions will allow us to predict future shifts in community composition with major implications for biological interactions in the Arctic, as well as global carbon dynamics.  

Although I currently focus on Arctic plant ecology, I was trained as a tropical plant ecologist, working in the Brazilian Amazon and south Florida pine rocklands. I also have research experience in the Colorado Rockies. 

Activities & Interests

Dancing and being outside…tele skiing, hiking, paddle boarding, ultimate frisbee, gardening…

Publications

Khorsand, R., Sancier-Barbosa, F., May, J.F., Høye, T.T, and Oberbauer, S.F. 2024. The effects of experimental warming on plant-pollinator interactions and floral rewards in the Low Arctic. Arctic Science 00: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0034. 

Khorsand, R. and Awolaja, F*. 2020. Pollination and breeding system of Thermopsis divaricarpa (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae) in the southern Rockies. Western North American Naturalist 80: 509–520. https://doi.org/10.3398/064.080.0408 

Koptur, S. and Khorsand, R. 2018. Pollination ecology of three sympatric palms of southern Florida pine rocklands. Natural Areas Journal 38: 15-25. https://doi.org/10.3375/043.038.0104 

Khorsand Rosa, R., Oberbauer, S.F., Starr, G. Parker LaPuma, I., Pop, E., Ahlquist, L., and Baldwin, T. 2015. Plant phenological responses to a long-term experimental extension of growing season and soil warming in tussock tundra of Alaska. Global Change Biology 21: 4520–4532. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13040 

Khorsand Rosa, R., Imbrozio Barbosa, R., and Koptur, S. 2014. Which factors explain reproductive output of Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) in forest and savanna habitats of northern Amazonia? International Journal of Plant Sciences 175(3):307-318. https://doi.org/10.1086/674446 

Khorsand Rosa, R. 2014. A review of the pollination biology of Mauritia flexuosa. Palms 58(2): 77-82. 

Khorsand Rosa, R. and Koptur, S. 2013. New findings on the pollination biology of Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) in Roraima, Brazil: linking dioecy, wind, and habitat. American Journal of Botany 100(3): 613-621. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1200446 

Khorsand Rosa, R., Imbrozio Barbosa, R., and Koptur, S. 2013. How do habitat and climate variation affect phenology of the Amazonian palm, Mauritia flexuosa? Journal of Tropical Ecology 29(3): 255-259. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467413000242 

Khorsand Rosa, R. 2011. Bees collect resin from Mauritia flexuosa in Roraima, Brazil. Palms 55(4): 200-203. 

Khorsand Rosa, R. and Koptur, S. 2009. Preliminary observations and analyses of pollination in Coccothrinax argentata: Do insects play a role? Palms 3(2): 75-83. 

Regular Classes

• Biology of Plants (BE105) 

• Ecology (BE208) 

• Biostatistics (BE220) 

• Advanced Ecology (BE308) 

• Independent Research Blocks (BE309/409) 

• Advanced Ecology and Experimental Design (BE440) 

Featured Articles

Students Conduct Plant-Pollinator Research in Alaska

NSF Grant Sends Professor, 2 Students to Alaskan Arctic

Breaking New Ground: Professor Adapts to Teaching Biology of Plants During the Pandemic

Research Photos