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Ecology, Mathematics, Data Science
Maintaining Earth's biodiversity
In the Melbourne lab we use mathematics and computational algorithms to figure out how best to maintain biodiversity. We also do experiments and collect data to test and verify our theoretical models. Central questions include how species will respond to climate change, why species go extinct, and how invasive species spread.
A more technical description: Our research is in the broad field of theoretical ecology. We study the spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological populations and communities by developing mathematical models and connecting these models to data. We're particularly interested in how processes such as competition, predation, and spatial spread interact with spatial and temporal variation in the environment and by randomness intrinsic to individuals. Heterogeneity and stochasticity (a fancy word for randomness) are the technical keywords. We work with stochastic models and use likelihood, Bayesian, and machine learning approaches to connect models to data.
News
- Nature 2024 Megafire effects on biodiversity
- Proc B 2023 Evolutionary rescue and the extinction vortex
- PNAS 2020 Interspecific competition sets range boundaries
- Proc B 2019 Genomic divergence during range expansion
- Ecology 2017 Long term experimental habitat fragmentation
- Nature Comms 2017 Evolution causes variable range expansion
- PNAS 2017 Rapid evolution in range expansion
- Ecology 2016 Metacommunity coexistence mechanisms
- Nature 2016 Productivity-diversity mechanisms
- PNAS 2015 Rescuing species from extinction
- Nature 2014 Herbivores and nutrients control diversity
- Science 2011 Productivity-diversity relationship
- Science 2009 Invasive spread (also see New York Times).
- Nature 2008 Extinction risk (also see Guardian).
- Ecology Letters 2007 Diversity-invasibility (top 20 most read paper).
- Kaylee Rosenberger wins the Lotka award for best student poster in theoretical ecology.
- Rob MacCurdy, Kendi Davies and I awarded funding to quantify insect biodiversity using machine learning.
- Scott Nordstrom awarded postdoc at U British Columbia!
- Kaylee Rosenberger awarded NSF GRFP.
- Anna Spiers awarded postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab!
- Kendi Davies and I awarded NSF funding to quantify post-megafire effects on insect biodiversity.
- Lauren Shoemaker elected Early Career Fellow of ESA.
- Anna Spiers wins American Association of University Women award.
- Lauren Shoemaker and Topher Weiss-Lehman awarded faculty positions at U Wyoming.
- Caroline Tucker awarded faculty position at U North Carolina.
- Geoff Legault wins the Volterra award for best student poster in theoretical ecology.