How does environmental heterogeneity influence plant diversity across spatial and temporal scales?
PROCESSES SHAPING BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION ACROSS ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS
By combining information about species distribution, demographic rates, functional traits and evolutionary history, we aim to better understand how the processes that shape biodiversity and ecosystem functioning vary across abiotic gradients. Much of this work has focused on Puerto Rican forests, where we have built an extensive database of species distributions, traits (including wood anatomy any hydraulic traits), demographic rates and community composition. Other projects (based elsewhere in the tropics and Europe) synthesize long-term data to examine local conditions interact with abiotic context to mediate forest diversity and function.
By combining information about species distribution, demographic rates, functional traits and evolutionary history, we aim to better understand how the processes that shape biodiversity and ecosystem functioning vary across abiotic gradients. Much of this work has focused on Puerto Rican forests, where we have built an extensive database of species distributions, traits (including wood anatomy any hydraulic traits), demographic rates and community composition. Other projects (based elsewhere in the tropics and Europe) synthesize long-term data to examine local conditions interact with abiotic context to mediate forest diversity and function.
SECONDARY FOREST SUCCESSION
DEMOGRAPHIC DRIVERS & IMPLICATIONS FOR CARBON CYCLING
Second growth forests account for the majority of forests worldwide, host an incredible amount of biodiversity, and are of critical importance for the global carbon balance. They are also great systems for studying succession because of their rapid dynamics. I am involved with an international collaborative group (2ndFor) that is working to better understand the drivers and implications of tropical succession.
I am studying the demographic mechanisms that drive tropical forest succession, and using this information to better understand the implications for carbon sequestration in secondary forests.
DEMOGRAPHIC DRIVERS & IMPLICATIONS FOR CARBON CYCLING
Second growth forests account for the majority of forests worldwide, host an incredible amount of biodiversity, and are of critical importance for the global carbon balance. They are also great systems for studying succession because of their rapid dynamics. I am involved with an international collaborative group (2ndFor) that is working to better understand the drivers and implications of tropical succession.
I am studying the demographic mechanisms that drive tropical forest succession, and using this information to better understand the implications for carbon sequestration in secondary forests.
SPECIES LOCAL AND REGIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS
LINKING PROCESS AND PATTERN ACROSS SCALES
By linking data on local patterns of diversity, abiotic gradients, and species distributions, I test hypotheses about the links between species local and regional distributions. Much of this work uses functional trait-based approaches to better understand the physiological mechanisms underlying distributional patterns. This has also entailed developing an R package (ENMeval) to improve ecological niche models.
LINKING PROCESS AND PATTERN ACROSS SCALES
By linking data on local patterns of diversity, abiotic gradients, and species distributions, I test hypotheses about the links between species local and regional distributions. Much of this work uses functional trait-based approaches to better understand the physiological mechanisms underlying distributional patterns. This has also entailed developing an R package (ENMeval) to improve ecological niche models.
GLOBAL PATTERNS, DRIVERS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF PALM ABUNDANCE
ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND ECOSYSTEM CONSEQUENCES
Palms (Arecaceae) are an iconic and diverse group that provide myriad ecosystem services in tropical forests. At least in some places, palms are also impressively abundant. For example, palms account for 7 of the top 20 ‘hyperdominant’ tree species of the Amazon (ter Steege et al. 2013). While previous work has examined global patterns of palm diversity, we currently lack a quantitative global analysis of palm abundance patterns. Given the many morphological and physiological differences between palms and dicotyledonous trees, the responses of these groups to environmental change drivers are likely to differ. As a result, a better understanding of palm dominance will help identify knowledge gaps and ultimately improve the predictive ability of global vegetation models. Together with many collaborators, I am compiling a dataset of >1,000 globally-tropical forest plots to quantify the relative abundance of arborescent palms versus dicot trees and test hypotheses about ecological and evolutionary drivers of these patterns. Ultimately, this work will help provide insight on dominance patterns in tropical forests and consequences for ecosystem properties such as carbon dynamics.
ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND ECOSYSTEM CONSEQUENCES
Palms (Arecaceae) are an iconic and diverse group that provide myriad ecosystem services in tropical forests. At least in some places, palms are also impressively abundant. For example, palms account for 7 of the top 20 ‘hyperdominant’ tree species of the Amazon (ter Steege et al. 2013). While previous work has examined global patterns of palm diversity, we currently lack a quantitative global analysis of palm abundance patterns. Given the many morphological and physiological differences between palms and dicotyledonous trees, the responses of these groups to environmental change drivers are likely to differ. As a result, a better understanding of palm dominance will help identify knowledge gaps and ultimately improve the predictive ability of global vegetation models. Together with many collaborators, I am compiling a dataset of >1,000 globally-tropical forest plots to quantify the relative abundance of arborescent palms versus dicot trees and test hypotheses about ecological and evolutionary drivers of these patterns. Ultimately, this work will help provide insight on dominance patterns in tropical forests and consequences for ecosystem properties such as carbon dynamics.
TRADE-OFFS ACROSS LIFE STAGES
INSIGHTS FROM TRAIT-BASED NEIGHBORHOOD MODELS
Life history trade-offs can have serious implications for community dynamics and the maintenance of diversity. In ongoing work, I am using data from the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot to explore the mechanisms behind life history trade-offs at different life stages. In one study, I used long term data on seed rain and seedling recruitment to examine factors governing the transition from seed to established seedling. In another collaborative project, we develop a hierarchical Bayesian model to investigate how plant functional traits and environmental conditions interact to mediate demographic rates at different life stages.
INSIGHTS FROM TRAIT-BASED NEIGHBORHOOD MODELS
Life history trade-offs can have serious implications for community dynamics and the maintenance of diversity. In ongoing work, I am using data from the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot to explore the mechanisms behind life history trade-offs at different life stages. In one study, I used long term data on seed rain and seedling recruitment to examine factors governing the transition from seed to established seedling. In another collaborative project, we develop a hierarchical Bayesian model to investigate how plant functional traits and environmental conditions interact to mediate demographic rates at different life stages.
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO TEACH ECOLOGY
Critical observation of ecological processes can improve general problem-solving skills and stimulate appreciation for the non-human world. I strive to integrate creative process and experiential learning into my teaching practice.
I am very interested in creative ways to teach ecology and, more generally, critical thinking. Some of my projects have involved delivering scientific presentations to general audiences (e.g., "Bats: cooler than you thought.") and drawing comic book-style lessons about general ecological concepts. I embrace the challenge to maintain scientific integrity and avoid oversimplification with these projects.
I have organized workshops on various methods in ecology & evolution at Aarhus University, and I have co-taught advanced workshops on Bayesian methods at Aarhus University and species distribution modeling at Uppsala University. My previous teaching experience spans a wide variety of levels and includes TA-ing and instructing lab courses at Columbia University and the University of Miami, teaching biology courses at Portland Community College, serving as an NSF GK-12 fellow with a 7th grade science class at MS-88 in Brooklyn, NY, mentoring a 6th grade class during the HHMI Summer Research in Ecology program, and developing community education programs in southern India with ATREE. I attended the intensive Teagle Institute workshop on using new technology to develop innovative teaching methods.
Critical observation of ecological processes can improve general problem-solving skills and stimulate appreciation for the non-human world. I strive to integrate creative process and experiential learning into my teaching practice.
I am very interested in creative ways to teach ecology and, more generally, critical thinking. Some of my projects have involved delivering scientific presentations to general audiences (e.g., "Bats: cooler than you thought.") and drawing comic book-style lessons about general ecological concepts. I embrace the challenge to maintain scientific integrity and avoid oversimplification with these projects.
I have organized workshops on various methods in ecology & evolution at Aarhus University, and I have co-taught advanced workshops on Bayesian methods at Aarhus University and species distribution modeling at Uppsala University. My previous teaching experience spans a wide variety of levels and includes TA-ing and instructing lab courses at Columbia University and the University of Miami, teaching biology courses at Portland Community College, serving as an NSF GK-12 fellow with a 7th grade science class at MS-88 in Brooklyn, NY, mentoring a 6th grade class during the HHMI Summer Research in Ecology program, and developing community education programs in southern India with ATREE. I attended the intensive Teagle Institute workshop on using new technology to develop innovative teaching methods.
