Fikadu Negese Biru

College/Institute: College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

Field of Specialization: Ecology

Research Interest: Global warming has causing food insecurity. Global atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and temperatures are predicted to continue to rise. These projected increases in CO₂ and T in turn can cause global warming that tends to reduce crop yields because crops speed through their  development, producing less grain in the process. And higher temperatures also interfere with the ability of plants to get and use moisture. These have significant implication on food security for the already spiked world populations. Therefore, we need further research and development to tackle human-driven global warming and the impacts it causes on food security.

Interests areas:

1. I’m interested on topics such as plant chemical ecology, ecosystem and community ecology, evolutionary biology, global change biology, bioinformatics, biogeochemistry of silica, terrestrial silica and carbon cycle etc.
2. Researching on plant adaptations to environmental changes such as Temperature and CO₂ is also areas of my interest
3. I am also keen to research on the impacts of silicon on plant defenses against insect herbivores.
4. In a Broader context, I am very interested to assist in developing novel strategies that aim to improve plant resistance against both abiotic and biotic environmental factors in the face of environmental change, particularly global warming.

Publications:

Biru,F.N.,  Nayak, J.J., Waterman, J. M., Cazzonelli, C. I., Elbaum, R., Johnson, S. N.2024). Elevated atmospheric CO₂ and silicon antagonistically regulate anti-herbivore phytohormone and defence gene expression levels in wheat. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 227, 105950. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2024.105950.

Biru, F.N., Cazzonelli, C.I., Elbaum, R., Johnson, S.N. (2023). Silicon-mediated herbivore defence in a pasture grass under pre-industrial and Anthropocene levels of CO₂. Frontiers in plant science, 14, 1268043. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1268043.

Johnson, S.N., Barton, C.V.M., Biru, F.N., Islam, T., Mace, W.J., and Rowe, R.C et al. (2023). Elevated atmospheric CO₂ suppresses silicon accumulation and exacerbates endophyte reductions in plant phosphorus. Functional Ecology, 37, 1567–1579. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14342.

Biru, F.N., Cazzonelli, CI.,Elbaum, R., & Johnson, S.N. (2022). Contrasting impacts of herbivore induction and elevated atmospheric CO₂ on silicon defences and consequences for subsequent herbivores. Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata, 00: 1- 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.13168.

Johnson, S.N., Cibils-Stewart, X., Waterman J.M., Biru F.N., Rowe, R.C., & Hartley, S.E. (2022). Elevated atmospheric CO₂ changes defence allocation in wheat but herbivore resistance persists. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289:20212536. 20212536. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2536.

Biru, F.N., Islam, T., Cibils-Stewart, X., Cazzonelli, C.I., Elbaum, R., Johnson, S.N. (2021). Anti-herbivore silicon defences in a model grass are greatest under Miocene levels of atmospheric CO₂. Global Change Biology, 27, 2959–2969. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15619.

Biru, F.N., Cazzonelli, C.I., Elbaum, R., Johnson, S.N. (2020). Contrasting effects of Miocene and Anthropocene levels of atmospheric CO₂ on silicon accumulation in a model grass. Biology Letters, 16, 20200608. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0608.

Biru, F.N. (2015). Effect of spacing and nitrogen fertilizer on the yield and yield component of shallot (Allium ascalonium L.). Journal of Agronomy, 14, 220-226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3923/ja.2015.220.226. DOI: https://doi.org /10.3923/ja.2015.220.226.