My research is motivated by the broad question of how to best maintain biodiversity on Earth. I focus on how biodiversity is generated, maintained, or destroyed by the interaction among organisms. My approach is interdisciplinary, combining biological experiments and empirical data with mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Key questions include how species respond to climate change, why species go extinct, and how invasive species spread. More technically, I study dynamics in space and time of natural systems, at two levels of biological organization - populations and communities. I develop theory in the form of mathematical models and connect these models to empirical data, which involves also developing new statistical and computational methods. Many important questions about biodiversity have two conspicuous features: an element of randomness and a spatial component. As a consequence, my research typically applies the mathematics of stochastic spatial systems.
keywords
ecological data science, mathematical ecology, ecology of populations and communities, biodiversity, conservation, invasion, extinction, climate change
EBIO 1220 - General Biology 2
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021
Provides a concentrated introduction to organisms, homeostasis, development, behavior, and ecology. Emphasizes fundamental principles, concepts, facts,and questions. Intended for science majors. Recommended prerequisite: EBIO 1210 (minimum grade C-).
EBIO 5460 - Special Topics
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022
Familiarizes students with specialized areas of biology. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as EBIO 4460.
