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Hansen  
Dr. Dennis Hansen
  dmhansen at stanford dot edu
 
 


Research Interests

I am broadly interested in the ecology, evolution and conservation of pollination and seed dispersal interactions, especially in tropical regions and on islands. My current main project focuses on seed dispersal in Mauritius - where the extinction of the vast majority of seed-dispersing animals have led to the forests being largely populated by ghosts today. In my work I aim to understand the community-level impact of this loss, and how to ameliorate it by introducing analogue species.

Additionally, together with researchers at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, I am studying the evolutionary ecology of several pollination systems in the semi-arid desert of Namaqualand in South Africa.

 

   
tortoise    
Publications


Hansen, D. M. and Müller, C.B. (in press) Invasive ants disrupt gecko pollination and seed dispersal of the endangered plant Roussea simplex in Mauritius. Biotropica


Hansen, D. M. and Müller, C.B. (in press) The critically endangered enigmatic Mauritian endemic plant Roussea simplex (Rousseaceae): geckos as pollinators and seed dispersers. International Journal of Plant Sciences

Linnebjerg, J., Hansen, D. M. & Olesen, J. M. (in press) Gut-passage effect of the introduced Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) on germination of invasive plant species in Mauritius. Austral Ecology

Hansen, D. M., Kaiser, C. N. & Müller, C. B. (2008) Endangered endemic plants on oceanic islands: seed dispersal, seedling establishment, and the use of ecological analogues. PLoS ONE 3(5): e2111. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002111

Kaiser C. N., Hansen D. M. & Müller, C. B. (2008) Habitat structure affects reproductive success of the rare endemic tree Syzygium mamillatum (Myrtaceae) in restored and unrestored sites in Mauritius. Biotropica 40: 86-94

Kaiser, C.N., Hansen, D.M. & Müller, C.B. (2008) Exotic pest insects: another perspective on coffee and conservation. Oryx 42: 143-146

Olesen, J.M., Dupont, Y.L., Ehlers, B.K. & Hansen, D.M. (2007) The openness of a flower and its number of flower-visitor species. Taxon 56: 729-736

Hansen, D.M., Kiesbüy, H.C., Jones, C.G. & Müller, C.B. (2007) Positive indirect interactions between neighboring plant species via a lizard pollinator. American Naturalist 169: 534-54

Hansen, D. M., Olesen, J. M., Mione, T., Johnson, S. D. & Müller, C. B. (2007) Coloured nectar: distribution, ecology, and evolution of an enigmatic floral trait. Biological Reviews 82: 83-111

Hansen, D. M., Beer, K. & Müller, C. B. (2006) Mauritian coloured nectar no longer a mystery: a visual signal for lizard pollinators. Biology Letters 2: 165-168

Olesen, J. M., Dupont, Y. L., Ehlers, B. K., Valido, A. & Hansen, D. M. (2005). Heterostyly in the Canarian endemic Jasminum odoratissimum (Oleaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 23: 537-539

Hansen, D. M. (2005). Phelsuma ornata (Ornate Day-gecko) Tail loss. Herpetological review 36: 453

Hansen, D.M. (2005). The enigmatic Mauritian endemic Roussea simplex (Rousseaceae): Bird or gecko pollination? Ecotropica 11: 69-72

Dupont Y.L., Hansen D.M., Rasmussen J.T. & Olesen J.M. (2004) Evolutionary changes in nectar sugar composition associated with switches between bird and insect pollination: the Canarian bird-flower element revisited. Functional Ecology 18: 670-676

Dupont Y.L., Hansen D.M., Valido A. & Olesen J.M. (2004) Impact of introduced honey bees on native pollination interactions of the endemic Echium wildpretii (Boraginaceae) on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Biological Conservation 118: 301-311

Dupont Y.L., Hansen D.M. & Olesen J.M. (2003) Structure of a plant ­ flower-visitor network in the high-altitude sub-alpine desert of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Ecography 26: 301-310

Hansen, D. M., J. M. Olesen & C. G. Jones (2002) Trees, birds, and bees in Mauritius: exploitative competition between introduced honey bees and endemic nectarivorous birds? Journal of Biogeography 29: 721-734

Valido A., Dupont Y.L. & Hansen D.M. (2002) Native birds and insects, and introduced honey bees visiting Echium wildpretii (Boraginaceae) in the Canary Islands. Acta Oecologica 23: 413-419