Martine contributes to study on seed dispersal

LEWISBURG — A recent study co-authored by Bucknell University Professor Chris Martine, biology, David Burpee Professor in Plant Genetics and Research, demonstrates how traditional practices of the Martu Aboriginal people in Australia play a crucial role in the distribution and survival of native plants.

The study, led by Penn State University Professor Rebecca Bliege Bird, anthropology, and co-authored by additional researchers from Penn State, the University Of Western Australia, Western Anthropological Research Group and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, was published in Nature Communications. It combines ecological surveys and ethnographic research to examine how Martu seed dispersal and landscape burning support the abundance and diversity of native species in Australia’s Great and Little Sandy Deserts.