Hector Arita
My research interests are focused on understanding patterns of composition and structure of sets of species at local, regional, and continental scales. Current projects at the local scale include analysis of the morphological structure of small-mammal communities. Projects focused on large scale patterns involve analysis of scaling of biological diversity using various metrics, and development of mathematical models linking species diversity with the structure and dynamics of geographic ranges.
Jayne Belnap
My research is focused on deserts of the world. I am fascinated by the role and function of soil biota, the factors that control bio-availability of soil nutrients, and how soil factors structure plant comunities in moisture-limited systems. I also study how the interactive effects of land use and climate affect the components and function of dryland systems around the world. These days, I spend most of my on time airplanes. While en route I try to figure out how to restore ecosystem function to overused landscapes.
Jim Bever
I am interested in testing basic ecological and evolutionary processes occurring within plants and their associated fungi. Much of the conceptual basis of ecology and evolution was developed with animals in mind. Plants and fungi differ from animals in important ways, including their motility, their nutrient acquisition systems and their genetic systems. Conceptual frameworks building on these peculiarities can be very useful in exploring the dynamics of populations and communities of plants and fungi. Developing, testing, and exploring the implications of these models and has been the goal of my work.
Ottar Bjornstad
My main research is in the area of consumer-resource interactions with a particiular emphasis on the ecology of infectious diseases, forest insect outbreaks and spatiotemporal dynamics in general. I am very interested in the relationship between models and data. My recent focus has been on fully and partially immunizing childhood infections (like measles and whooping cough) and gypsy moth invasion. I also still enjoy dabbling in models for (st)age-structured dynamics, predator-prey cycles and mast reproduction.
Kathryn Cottingham
Research interests
Sally Hacker
I am a community ecologist interested in natural and managed marine and estuarine communities. The theme that guides my work is an interest in species interactions and how they influence community formation and species diversity under different spatial scales and community contexts. Major themes or areas of concentration in my research include mechanisms important to plant species diversity and productivity in estuarine and rocky intertidal communities, invasion and restoration dynamics of invasive marine and dune grasses, and interactions of shellfish aquaculture to estuarine productivity and recovery.
Kyle E. Harms
Research Interests
My research concerns the diversity and dynamics of species-rich plant communities, with a specific focus on the ecological processes that maintain species diversity. Geographic research foci include tropical forests and pine savannas of the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain.
Bruce Hungate
Research Interests
Steve Jackson
My research centers on ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographic consequences of environmental change. I am particularly interested in linking environmental and ecological dynamics across a range of timescales, from real-time observations of ecologists through near-time records of tree-ring archives to the far-time inferences of paleoecology — from woodrat middens, lake sediments, and bog peats. My work concentrates on forest, woodland, and wetland ecosystems.
Bruce Kendall
Research Interests
Phil Levin
I am a community ecologist and conservation biologist with a focus on marine ecosystems. I've worked on coral reefs, kelp forests, estuaries and rivers of the Pacific Northwest. I am currently focused on developing new ecological approaches to solving fisheries and conservation problems in the California Current.
Jennifer Hughes Martiny
Research Interests
Maria Miriti
My research focuses on plant population and community ecology. Because plants are immobile and habitats are heterogeneous, individual plant responses to patchy resource distribution influences not only the spatial distribution of plants, but also the demographic trajectory of plant populations. Spatial constraints also influence community and ecosystem processes. My research attempts to merge information on the spatial distribution of resources and the distinct responses of neighboring individuals to the spatial characteristics of their environment.
Craig Osenberg
I am a population and community ecologist and work primarily in freshwater and marine systems. My research strives to develop predictive frameworks for understanding how species interactions (e.g., competition and predation), organismal traits (e.g., morphology, life history), and environmental factors (e.g., habitat coupling, productivity, anthropogenic activities) influence the abundance and dynamics of ecological systems. I am particularly interested in how population structure (due to spatial and ontogenetic influences) modifies population dynamics and the nature of species interactions. My research spans basic and applied issues, including habitat quality and density-dependence in reef fishes, coral dynamics, the efficacy of MPAs, restoration of freshwater springs, implementation of assessment designs (e.g., BACIPS), and the development and application of meta-analysis.
Cathy Pfister
I am interested in the dynamics of marine populations, including the role of individual attributes, species interactions and nutrient exchanges. A current emphasis in my research is the interplay of demographic and genetic attributes of populations for extinction risk.
Taylor Ricketts
My research interests connect community and landscape ecology with biodiversity conservation. I currently focus on the ecological dynamics, spatial distributions, and economic values of ecosystem services, in particular pollination. My interests also include connectivity and conservation in human-dominated landscapes, understanding global patterns of biodiversity and threats, identifying resulting conservation priorities, and designing reserve networks to protect them efficiently.
Jennifer Tank
I am an aquatic ecosystem ecologist and my research centers on understanding which factors control nutrient cycling and carbon dynamics in streams. In particular, we use human-altered ecosystems as large-scale manipulations that elucidate controls on stream biogeochemistry.
Peter H. Thrall
My research centres on the ecology and coevolutionary biology of natural plant-microbe interactions. I have a long-standing interest in the spatial dynamics of host-pathogen systems, as well as in the impacts of host social and mating behaviour on disease. In recent years my research has expanded to include the community ecology of native soil symbionts, and the benefits of using these to increase the cost-effectiveness of large-scale revegetation.
