Laura A. Meyerson

  • Professor
  • Department of Natural Resources Science
  • Phone: 401.932.4375
  • Email: lameyerson@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Woodward Hall, Office #133

Biography

Dr. Laura Meyerson is a professor at the University of Rhode Island in the Department of Natural Resources Science where she conducts research, teaches courses on invasion science and restoration ecology, and trains undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Meyerson’s research is global in nature and focuses on invasive species and ecological restoration with a particular emphasis on plants and their interactions. Much of her work uses the model species Phragmites australis to study the effects of environmental change on genetics, genomics, metabolomics, microbial ecology, and plant-insect interactions. She also works in regenerative agriculture and silvopasture – using trees to restore ecosystems, increase biological diversity, and support livestock.

Dr. Meyerson is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Invasions and an Associate Editor for the journal Neobiota. She was a Contributing Lead Author for the recent IPBES report on Invasive Alien Species. She has thrice been a Fulbright Fellow – in the Czech Republic, as a Fulbright Global Scholar in South Africa, Argentina, and the Czech Republic, and most recently as a Fulbright-National Science Foundation Arctic Scholar in Iceland. She is also an Aldo Leopold Fellow, a Switzer Fellow, and an elected fellow of the Ecological Society of America. Dr. Meyerson served on the federal Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) as a part of the National Invasive Species Council. Before joining the URI faculty, Dr. Meyerson was a staff scientist working on The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems at the The Heinz Center in Washington, DC. As a AAAS Fellow at the US EPA ORD, she was detailed to the Global Invasive Species Programme and the National Invasive Species Council. She was a research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History, and a visiting professor at Brown University. Dr. Meyerson earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at the Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Education

Ph.D., Yale University – School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 2000

Selected Publications

  1. Richardson, DM, S Bacher, PE Hulme, LA Meyerson, HE Roy,E Ryan-Colton, H Seebens, E Schwindt, M Vilà, JRU Wilson, P Pyšek. In Press. Biological invasions: Trends, drivers, impacts, management and governance. Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources.
  2. South et al. 2025 (In Press). Parallels between biological invasions and human migration are flawed and undermine both disciplines. Response to Ahmed et al. BioScience.
  3. Packer, J, E Schwindt, M Rodriguez-Cabal, LA Meyerson. 2025. In press. Focusing on the management of Biological Invasions: Introducing a new article type on the management of biological invasions. Biological Invasions.
  4. Meyerson, LA, A Suzzi-Simmons, and D. Simberloff. 2025. (In Press). The reviewer crisis in invasion science. Biological Invasions.
  5. Meyerson, LA, JT Cronin, J Packer, P Pyšek, K Saltonstall. (2025. In Press). Ecology and Evolution of Phragmites australis, One of the World’s Most Successful Plant Species. Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.
  6. Seebens, H, LA Meyerson, DM Richardson, B Lenzner, E Tricarico, F Courchamp, A Aleksanyan, E Keskin, H Saeedi, P Akite, JM Alexander, SA Bailey, D Biancolini, TM Blackburn, HJ Boehmer, A Bortolus, MW Cadotte, C Capinha, JT Carlton, JA Crouch, CC Daehler, F Essl, L Foxcroft, JD Fridley, N Fuentes, M Gaertner, B Galil, E García-Berthou, P García-Díaz, S Haider, L Heneghan, KA Hughes, C Hui, E Kaplan, AM Liebhold, C Liu, E Marchante, H Marchante, A Marticorena, DW Minter, RA Moreno, W Nentwig, A Niamir, A Novoa, AL Nunes, A Pauchard, S Rahlao, A Ricciardi, J Russell, KV Sankaran, A Schertler, E Schwindt, RT Shackleton, D Simberloff, DL Strayer, A Tawake, M Thines, C Villaseñor-Parada, JRS Vitule, V Wagner, V Werenkraut, K Wesche, DA Willette, RD Zenni, and P Pyšek. (In press 2025). Biological invasions: a global assessment of geographic distributions, long-term trends, and data gaps. Biological Reviews.
  7. Mandáková, T, LA Meyerson, P Pyšek. 2025. In press. No evidence of aneuploidy in Phragmites australis. Taxon.
  8. Glassmire, A, A Salgado, R Diaz, J Johnston, LA Meyerson, JS Snook, and JT Cronin. 2024. The effects of anthropogenic stressors on above- and below-ground phytochemical diversity of the wetland grass, Phragmites australis. Plants 13(22), 3133; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13223133
  9. Simberloff, D., Meyerson, L.A. 2024. Yet another call for the end of invasion biology. Biological Invasions, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-024-03404-4.
  10. Novoa, A, G Vimercati, Brundu, DM Richardson, U Schaffner, Brunori, T Campagnaro, S Canavan, L Celesti-Grapow, M Dechoum, K Dehnen-Schmutz, J-M Dufour-Dror, F Essl, H Jäger, J Joshi, M Karmann, B Langdon, K Lapin, J Le Roux, V Lozano, M Masiero, LA Meyerson, MA Nuñez, A Pauchard, J Pergl, Petr Pyšek, J Pyšková, J Rodriguez, RT Shackleton, JS Silva, T Sitzia, L Verbrugge, M Vítková, YT Weldesemaet , M Westergren, JRU Wilson. 2024 (2024). Stakeholders’ views on the global guidelines for the sustainable use of non-native trees. People and Nature, https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/pan3.10670
  11. Roy HE, A Pauchard, PJ Stoett, T Renard Truong, LA Meyerson, S Bacher, BS Galil, PE Hulme, T Ikeda, S Kavileveettil, MA McGeoch, MA Nuńez, A Ordonez, SJ Rahlao, E Schwindt, H Seebens, AW Sheppard, V Vandvik, A Aleksanyan, M Ansong, T August, R Blanchard, E Brugnoli, JK Bukombe, B Bwalya, C Byun, M Camacho-Cervantes, P Cassey, LM Castillo, F Courchamp, K Dehnen-Schmutz, RD Zenni, C Egawa, F Essl, G Fayvush, RD Fernandez, M Fernandez, LC Foxcroft, P Genovesi, Q Groom, AI González, A Helm, I Herrera, AJ Hiremath, PL Howard, C Hui, M Ikegami, E Keskin, A Koyama, S Ksenofontov, B Lenzner, T Lipinskaya, JL Lockwood, DC Mangwa, AF Martinou, SM McDermott, CL Morales, J Müllerová, NA Mungi, LK Munishi, H Ojaveer, SN Pagad, NPTKS Pallewatta, LR Peacock, E Per, J Pergl, C Preda, P Pyšek, RK Rai, A Ricciardi, DM Richardson, S Riley, BJ Rono, E Ryan-Colton, H Saeedi, BB Shrestha, D Simberloff, A Tawake, E Tricarico, S Vanderhoeven, J Vicente, M Vilà, W Wanzala, V Werenkraut, OLF Weyl, JRU Wilson, RO Xavier & SR Ziller. 2024. Curbing the major and increasing threats from invasive alien species is urgent and achievable. Nature Ecology and Evolution (doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02412-w)
  12. Seebens, H, A Niamir, F Essl, S Garnett, J Kumagai, Z Molnar, H Saeedi, LA Meyerson. 2024. Biological invasions on Indigenous Peoples’ Lands. Nature Sustainability 7, 737–746, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01361-3https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01361-3**Spotlighted in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
  13. Nuñez, MA, T August, S Bacher, BS Galil, PE Hulme, T Ikeda, MA McGeoch, A Ordonez, S Rahlao, T Renard Truong, A Pauchard, HE Roy, KV Sankaran, E Schwindt, H Seebens, AW Sheppard, P Stoett, Vi Vandvik, and LA Meyerson. 2024. Including a diverse set of voices to address biological invasions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.02.009
  14. Simberloff, D, A Bortolus, J Carlton, F Courchamp, RN Cuthbert, PE. Hulme, JL Lockwood, LA Meyerson, MA Nuñez, A Ricciardi, DM. Richardson and E Schwindt. 2024. Systematic and persistent bias against invasion science: Framing conservation scientists. BioScience https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae029
  15. Bernard-Verdier, M, T Heger, D Mietchen, C Musseau, M Brinner, A Hillig, P Kraker, S Lokatis, AL Nunes, N Scheidweiler, M Stocker, R Vial, L Vogt, S Bacher, E Baklouti, HB Gupta, J-N Beisel, S Bertolino, E Briski, G Castellanos-Galindo, F Courchamp, E Daly, W Dawson, J Dickey, T Evans, Y Itescu, B Koenig-Ries, L Kumar, S Kumschick, LA Meyerson, Z Pattison, W Pfadenhauer, D Renault, F Rickowski, F Ruland, C Schittko, T Straka, F Yannelli, J Jeschke. Building an atlas of knowledge for invasion biology and beyond! 2nd enKORE-INAS Workshop. 2023. Research Ideas and Outcomes, DOI: 10.3897/rio.9.e115395.
  16. Meyerson LA, P Pyšek, M Lučanová, JT Cronin, C Lambertini, J Čuda, J Wild, J. Pergl. 2024. Some like it hot: Small genomes are more prevalent under climate extremes. Biological Invasions, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-024-03253-1.
  17. Guo, W-Y, J Čuda, H Skálová, M Lučanová, C Lambertini, S Pierce, H Brix, LA Meyerson, P Pyšek. 2024. Genome size and climate shape the intraspecific variation in ecological adaptive strategies of a cosmopolitan grass species. Functional Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14613
  18. Schwindt E, August TA, Vanderhoeven S, McGeoch MA, Bacher, S, Galil, BS, Genovesi, P, Hulme, PE, Ikeda, T, Nuñez, MA, Ordonez, A, Pauchard, A, Rahlao, SJ, Renard Truong, T, Roy, HE, Sankaran, KV, Seebens H, Sheppard, AW, Stoett, P, Vandvik V, Wilson, JRU, Meyerson LA. 2023. Overwhelming evidence galvanizes a global consensus on the need for action against Invasive Alien Species. Biological Invasions 26, 621–626, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03209-x.
  19. Roy, Helen E.; Pauchard, Aníbal; Stoett, Peter; Renard Truong, Tanara; Bacher, Sven; Galil, Bella S.; Hulme, Philip E.; Ikeda, Tohru; Sankaran, Kavileveettil V.; McGeoch, Melodie A.; Meyerson, Laura A.; Nuñez, Martin A.; Ordonez, Alejandro; Rahlao, Sebataolo J.; Schwindt, Evangelina; Seebens, Hanno; Sheppard, Andy W.; Vandvik, Vigdis. 2023. IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment: Summary for Policymakers. IPBES Secretariat, Bonn, Germany, https://zenodo.org/record/8314303
  20. Roy, HE, A Pauchard, P Stoett, T Renard Truong, T Lipinskaya, JR Vicente…LA Meyerson. 2023. Chapter 1: Introducing biological invasions and the IPBES Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their control. In. Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, HE, A Pauchard, P Stoett, T Renard Truong (eds). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.7430723. 
  21. Simberloff, D and LA Meyerson. 2023. A faulty metaphor and a losing struggle lead to advocacy of non-native plants. Biological Invasions., https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-023-03157-6
  22. Seebens, H, S Rahlao, Meyerson, LA. 2023. Chapter 2: Status and Trends of Invasive Alien Species. IPBES Report on Invasive Alien Species. In. Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, HE, A Pauchard, P Stoett, T Renard Truong (eds). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.7430725.
  23. Pyšek, P., Lučanová, M., Dawson, W., Essl, F., Kreft, H., Leitch, I.J., Lenzner, B., Meyerson, L.A., Pergl, J., van Kleunen, M., Weigelt, P., Winter, M. and Guo, W.-Y. 2023. Small genome size and variation in ploidy levels support the naturalization of vascular plants but constrain their invasive spread. New Phytol, 239: 2389-2403. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19135.
  24. Salgado, A, A Glassmire, B Sedio, R Diaz, MJ Stout, J Čuda, P Pyšek, LA Meyerson, JT Cronin. 2023. Metabolomic Evenness Underlies Intraspecific Differences Among Lineages of a Wetland Grass. Journal of Chemical Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-023-01425-2
  25. Guo, X, J-Y Ma, L-L Liu, M-Y Li, H Wang, Y-K Sun, T Wang, K-L Wang, LA Meyerson. 2023. Effects of salt stress on interspecific competition between an invasive alien plant Oenothera biennis and three native species. Frontiers in Plant Science 14, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1144511.
  26. Lockwood, JL, D Lieurance, SL Flory, LA Meyerson, A Ricciardi, D Simberloff. 2023. Scholarship, not rhetoric, advances a field. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10.1016/j.tree.2023.01.006
  27. Novoa, A, S Canavan, D Lieurance, LA Meyerson. 2022. Exploring the performance of Biological Invasions in social media five years after opening its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Biological Invasions 25:141–152, doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02901-8. 
  28. Boardman, L, M Angilletta, J Krause, J Lau, J Lockwood, M Loik, , D Simberloff, C Thawley, LA Meyerson. 2022. The future of invasion science needs physiology. BioScience 72: 1204-1219, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac080.
  29. Hierro, JL, Ö Eren, J Čuda, LA Meyerson. 2022. EICA may explain dominance of introduced species in ruderal communities. Ecological Monographs doi:10.1002/ecm.1524
  30. Lindsay, DL, X Guan, NE Harms, JT Cronin, LA Meyerson, and RF Lance. 2023. DNA assays for genetic discrimination of three Phragmites australis subspecies in the United States. Applications in Plant Sciences. http://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11512
  31. Cortez, A. O., Chu, C.-L., Broadley, H. J., Lo, Y.-S., Chen, Y.-C., Gates, M. W., Meyerson, L. A., Hoelmer, K. A., Gould, J. R., & Hwang, S.-Y. 2022. Exploratory surveys in Taiwan of the roseau cane scale Nipponaclerda biwakoensis Kuwana (Hemiptera: Aclerdidae) and its associated parasitoids. Journal of Applied Entomology, 00, 1– 11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12982.**Top cited article in Journal of Applied Entomology 2022-2023.

Courses

  • Conservation Biology (NRS 223)
  • Invasion Ecology (NRS 445/545)
  • Restoration Ecology (NRS 401/501)