Research OverviewA goal of my research is to quantify the drivers of individual demographic rates to understand current, and predict future, emergent patterns in ecology. I combine observational, experimental, and data analytical approaches that span and integrate across biological and spatial scales.
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Exploring the Seasonal NicheAs a postdoc at UC Davis, I’m exploring the ecology and evolution of the seasonal niche and its impacts on population and species responses to current and future climates. In particular, I relate environmental cues to seasonal timing and fitness of species across the Streptanthus clade of Brassicaceae and its allies.
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Quantifying the Drivers of Differential PerformanceResearch from my PhD focused on the contribution of phenotypic and environmental variation to differential performance in tropical trees. Through integration and consideration of multivariate phenotypes and the environment simultaneously, I am applying findings to questions about species and functional diversity patterns, community structure, and species coexistence.
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Hurricane Effects on ForestsI, along with the Swenson lab, are investigating the effects of Hurricane Maria on the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. We are assessing seedling recruitment and performance post hurricane.
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DNA Barcodes of YasuníIn continuation of my master's research, I am working to generate a DNA barcode library for all tree species in the Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot in lowland Ecuadorian Amazon. This library is already and will continue to be used for phylogenetic community analyses, diet-analyses, and herbivory studies.
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High Elevation Plant CommunitiesIn collaboration with Columbus State University, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and Siempre Verde Preserve, we are monitoring long-term elevation transects in montane forest in the Andes of Ecuador. All trees with dbh ≥ 5 cm have been tagged, sampled and identified. Currently, projects are sampling epiphytes across the transects.
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