Niu Yang, Professor, Ph.D.

Email: Niuyang@mail.kib.ac.cn

I’m an evolutionary ecologist interested in the evolution of plant colour in the context of plant-animal interaction. This includes the evolution of floral colour in plant-pollinator interaction and the evolution of plant camouflage in plant-herbivore interaction. We mainly work in the Hengduan Mountains area, SW China.

Publications selected

Plant Camouflage

Niu Y, Stevens M, Sun H^*. 2021. Commercial Harvesting Has Driven the Evolution of Camouflage in an Alpine Plant. CURRENT BIOLOGY. 31: 446-449.

Niu Y, Sun H, Stevens M. 2018. Plant Camouflage: Ecology, Evolution, and Implications. TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 33: 608-618.

Niu Y, Chen Z, Stevens M, Sun H^*. 2017. Divergence in cryptic leaf colour provides local camouflage in an alpine plant. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 284: 1864.

Niu Y, Sun H. 2014. Alpine scree plants benefit from cryptic coloration with limited cost. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR. 9: e29698

Niu Y, Chen G, Peng DL, Song B, Yang Y, Li ZM, Sun H^*. 2014. Grey leaves in an alpine plant: a cryptic colouration to avoid attack? NEW PHYTOLOGIST. 203: 953-963.

Floral colour

Hu YL, Chen Z, Zhao JJ, Niu Y^*, Xu G^*. 2022. Visual function of red staminal filaments in a bee-pollinated plant. PLANT ECOLOGY & DIVERSITY.

Chen Z, Liu CQ, Sun H^*, Niu Y^*. 2020. The ultraviolet colour component enhances the attractiveness of red flowers of a bee-pollinated plant. JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY. 13: 354-360.

Chen Z^#, Niu Y^#, Liu CQ, Sun H^*. 2020. Red flowers differ in shades between pollination systems and across continents. ANNALS OF BOTANY. 126: 837-848.

Liu CQ, Gao YD, Niu Y, Xiong YZ, Sun H^*. 2019. Floral adaptations of two lilies: implications for the evolution and pollination ecology of huge trumpet-shaped flowers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY. 106: 622-632.

Liu CQ, Niu Y, Lu Q, Chen Z, Cai B, Fang Y, Gao YD^*. 2022. Papilio butterfly vs. hawkmoth pollination explains floral syndrome dichotomy in a clade of Lilium. BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. 199: 678-693.

Yang J^#, Niu Y^#, Sun WB, Cai XH, Chen G^*. 2022. Intersexual mimicry and imperfect deceit of a threatened aquatic herb Ottelia acuminata. JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION. 60: 377-385.

Other Topics

Liu CQ, Niu Y, Peng DL, Sun H^*. 2018. Are superior ovaries damaged by the bills of flower-visiting birds and does this preclude adaptation to bird pollinators? BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. 187: 499-511.

Niu Y^#, Gong QB^#, Peng DL, Sun H, Li ZM^*. 2017. Function of male and hermaphroditic flowers and size-dependent gender diphasy of Lloydia oxycarpa (Liliaceae) from Hengduan Mountains. PLANT DIVERSITY. 39: 187-193.

Niu Y, Zhou Z, Sha W, Sun H. 2016. Post-floral Erection of Stalks Provides Insight into the Evolution of Fruit Orientation and Its Effects on Seed Dispersal. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 6.