PhD 2001 Australian National University I'm a mathematical ecologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder (officially starting Fall 2008). I've been here in Boulder the last year while maintaining my collaboration with Alan Hastings at UC Davis. I was previously a postdoc with the Chesson lab, and Biological Invasions IGERT at UC Davis. |
My research interest is spatio-temporal population dynamics, which I study by developing mathematical models and connecting these models to
data. I'm particularly interested in how processes such as competition, predation, and spatial spread are affected by spatial and temporal variation in the environment and by randomness intrinsic to individuals. I address both applied and basic questions. I have two main thrusts at the moment. (1) Understanding the role of environmental and demographic stochasticity in the spread of invasive species, for which I have an NSF grant together with Alan Hastings. (2) The role of facilitation in coexistence of coral reef fish in heterogeneous environments (with Peter Chesson). Other recent and current topics include invasion and disease ecology, consumer - resource interactions, coexistence in multispecies communities, and conservation ecology. My study systems have included invasive plants, laboratory flour beetles, coral reef fish, freshwater streams, forest insects, bird communities, and animal diseases.
NEWS 3 July 08: Our paper on extinction risk
is out in Nature! Email me if you're interested in the paper and don't have a Nature
subscription |