EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGIST.

Projects

The three pillars of my research can be categorized as biogeography, comparative evolutionary biology, and natural history. I develop eco-evolutionary models predicated on sound ecological theory from the ground-up. These models are based on real world observations and leverage the natural laboratory role of island ecosystems to shed light on the remarkable processes shaping their biotas over historical and geological timespans. Unfortunately, despite comprising less than 5% of Earth’s total landmass, more than 75% of animal extinctions in the last five decades have occurred on islands. Thus, the learnings made in this realm can readily be expanded to better understand and conserve continental ecosystems like those in Central Europe.

Morphological Evolution

Morphological Evolution

Plants & animals that colonize isolated islands often evolve in predictable ways. Birds, for example, almost universally become larger and lose the ability to fly. Why?

A simple null model suggests that the secret to island endemics and their unique sizes may lie in their shared subjegation to evolutionary drift.

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Seed Dynamics & Climate Warming

Seed Dynamics & Climate Warming

Many plants produce dormant seeds as a means of synchronizing germination with favorable growing conditions. However, climate warming could compromise this important ecological strategy.

We ran a two-year warming experiment to establish the effect of different future climate scenarios for tropical Fabaceae.

What we discovered

EcolSym

EcolSym

EcolSym aims to harmonize the ecosystem services of the biodiversity naturally occurring on farms with the industrial aims of the producers managing them. For example, one division of EcolSym is exploring the potential for social wasps as a replacement for pesticides to control crop pests.

EcolSym certifications empower producers to market their goods as ecologically robust to the consumer; simultaneously increasing their products’ value in the marketplace and satisfying national environmental directives.

Coming soon

Forest Hydrology

Forest Hydrology

Stormwater is a vital resource and dynamic driver of terrestrial ecosystem processes. Storm-related phenomena trigger lasting, oversized impacts on hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, organismal traits or functions, and ecosystem services at all scales.

However, processes controlling interactions during and shortly after storms are often poorly seen and poorly sensed when direct observations are substituted with technological ones. We discuss how human observations complement technological ones and the benefits of scientists spending more time in the storm.
(Photo credit: John Van Stan).

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Defensive Mutualisms

Defensive Mutualisms

Did you know some plants produce tiny homes for mites? In return, mites consume herbivorous arthropods and parasitic fungi like leaf moulds that would otherwise hard the host plant.

This unlikely yet remarkable relationship has hardly been touched by the scientific community, despite its potential to revolutionize how we deter agricultural pests and breed crop varieties.

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Size-Dependency & Traits

Size-Dependent Traits

Trait-based research is plagued by the indelible fact that traits scale with organismal size. Closer inspection reveals that diverse methodologies are used to account for body size, highlighting a lack of scientific consensus on what constitutes best practice.

We outline the assumptions, benefits and shortcomings of commonly-used body size corrections and discuss their appropriate use-cases. We then provide a statistical roadmap to help researchers to decide which to use and when.

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