Question
Although I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolutionary biology of earthly critters, my research questions focus on an intersection between life history evolution and theoretical community ecology. More specifically, I like to think about how entities within complex ecological communities, such as species, partition themselves into different temporal 'niches'. I have come to think about these questions on the scale of seasons. What drives different species of zooplankton in a lake to come out at different time periods throughout a year?Why do different flower species in a field bloom not at once but in a complicated orchestra? And perhaps more interestingly, how do the involved players themselves conduct the orchestra?
We seem to have a pretty good idea of how one species evolves certain life history strategies to optimize its seasonal presence and activity; what we know less about, however, is how a diversity of life histories is created and maintained as a result of species-to-species interactions. Studies of species diversity dig deep into drivers of patterns in space. But (how) can we study time as another axis of diversity? And especially in an unexpectedly and quickly changing climate - with shifts in seasonal patterns and associated ecological interactions - how can such questions help us think about the maintenance of diversity in nature?
Although I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolutionary biology of earthly critters, my research questions focus on an intersection between life history evolution and theoretical community ecology. More specifically, I like to think about how entities within complex ecological communities, such as species, partition themselves into different temporal 'niches'. I have come to think about these questions on the scale of seasons. What drives different species of zooplankton in a lake to come out at different time periods throughout a year?Why do different flower species in a field bloom not at once but in a complicated orchestra? And perhaps more interestingly, how do the involved players themselves conduct the orchestra?
We seem to have a pretty good idea of how one species evolves certain life history strategies to optimize its seasonal presence and activity; what we know less about, however, is how a diversity of life histories is created and maintained as a result of species-to-species interactions. Studies of species diversity dig deep into drivers of patterns in space. But (how) can we study time as another axis of diversity? And especially in an unexpectedly and quickly changing climate - with shifts in seasonal patterns and associated ecological interactions - how can such questions help us think about the maintenance of diversity in nature?
Projects
Marine intertidal ecology as a system for temporal diversity questions
more updates coming soon.
more updates coming soon.
Seasonal life history strategies of High Arctic marine zooplankton in Svalbard, Norway
Collaboration with Dr. Øystein Varpe in a high Arctic Norwegian archipelago -- more updates coming soon.
Link here.
Collaboration with Dr. Øystein Varpe in a high Arctic Norwegian archipelago -- more updates coming soon.
Link here.
Eco-evolutionary feedback between Daphnia and phytoplankton, and consequences on temporal phytoplankton community composition
I am interested in the multitrophic effect of intraspecific Daphnia ambigua life history divergence on the temporal (seasonal) species turnover in phytoplankton communities in New England freshwater lakes. The Post Lab at Yale has shown intraspecific LH divergence in alewife (a freshwater fish) populations in anadromous (connected to sea) and landlocked lakes which have varying seasonal dynamics. This has also been shown to drive LH divergence in Daphnia (an important zooplankton prey for alewives and keystone grazer on phytoplankton) populations in these lakes. I am asking if and how this divergence in Daphnia life histories consequently affects the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton. I have reared genetic clones of Daphnia ambigua from the two fundamentally different lake types, and designed short- and long-term lab mesocosm experiments with phytoplankton to explore community interactions.
Link to the Post Lab at Yale here.
I am interested in the multitrophic effect of intraspecific Daphnia ambigua life history divergence on the temporal (seasonal) species turnover in phytoplankton communities in New England freshwater lakes. The Post Lab at Yale has shown intraspecific LH divergence in alewife (a freshwater fish) populations in anadromous (connected to sea) and landlocked lakes which have varying seasonal dynamics. This has also been shown to drive LH divergence in Daphnia (an important zooplankton prey for alewives and keystone grazer on phytoplankton) populations in these lakes. I am asking if and how this divergence in Daphnia life histories consequently affects the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton. I have reared genetic clones of Daphnia ambigua from the two fundamentally different lake types, and designed short- and long-term lab mesocosm experiments with phytoplankton to explore community interactions.
Link to the Post Lab at Yale here.
Tundra mosquito life history strategies in a race against time
Excessive grubbing (shoot-pulling) by growing snow goose populations in the Canadian Arctic denudes the vegetation cover above the permafrost and triggers long-term destructive processes that force irreversible alternate stable-states. Less known are the indirect effects this disturbance has on the hydrology of the seasonal ephemeral bodies of water that are truly ubiquitous across the tundra landscape, and on other (smaller) organisms that obligatorily utilize these aquatic habitats. Mosquitoes are a striking presence and source of great petulance during the Arctic summer, after they develop as larvae in these seasonal pools and emerge as flying adults. What is also striking is that, when one takes the time (ex. a whole field season in the middle of nowhere) to observe the temporal turnovers of species during the summer, they appear to characterize the aerial landscape in dramatic and distinct waves, even among closely related species with very similar developmental time requirements. I designed emergence traps that sampled the different mosquito species as they emerged out of ponds throughout the summer, and conducted a dehydration survey which showed that tundra surface degradation by snow goose increases the evaporation rate of ephemeral pools. This results in the constriction of the temporal template available for mosquito development and limits those species with late-season emergence life histories. Thus diversity spread across time is restricted by an unexpected, indirect ecological interaction.
Excessive grubbing (shoot-pulling) by growing snow goose populations in the Canadian Arctic denudes the vegetation cover above the permafrost and triggers long-term destructive processes that force irreversible alternate stable-states. Less known are the indirect effects this disturbance has on the hydrology of the seasonal ephemeral bodies of water that are truly ubiquitous across the tundra landscape, and on other (smaller) organisms that obligatorily utilize these aquatic habitats. Mosquitoes are a striking presence and source of great petulance during the Arctic summer, after they develop as larvae in these seasonal pools and emerge as flying adults. What is also striking is that, when one takes the time (ex. a whole field season in the middle of nowhere) to observe the temporal turnovers of species during the summer, they appear to characterize the aerial landscape in dramatic and distinct waves, even among closely related species with very similar developmental time requirements. I designed emergence traps that sampled the different mosquito species as they emerged out of ponds throughout the summer, and conducted a dehydration survey which showed that tundra surface degradation by snow goose increases the evaporation rate of ephemeral pools. This results in the constriction of the temporal template available for mosquito development and limits those species with late-season emergence life histories. Thus diversity spread across time is restricted by an unexpected, indirect ecological interaction.
Snow goose phenology in a changing Arctic
NSF-REU work with collaborator Dr. David Koons at Utah State University, and involvement with the Hudson Bay Project with Dr. Robert Rockwell at the American Museum of Natural History took me to the Canadian low Arctic to investigate snow goose gosling morphology, life history strategies, and survival on the tundra affected by long-term degradation from overgrazing. We investigated the simultaneous effect of spatio-temporal variation in habitat degradation and the mismatch between goose hatching phenology and plant phenology (climatic shift) on early-life growth, and consequences on population dynamics. This involved living in the field for a few months at a time among polar bears, jumping out of a helicopter, and sprinting after flocks of hundreds of geese across the tundra.
NSF-REU work with collaborator Dr. David Koons at Utah State University, and involvement with the Hudson Bay Project with Dr. Robert Rockwell at the American Museum of Natural History took me to the Canadian low Arctic to investigate snow goose gosling morphology, life history strategies, and survival on the tundra affected by long-term degradation from overgrazing. We investigated the simultaneous effect of spatio-temporal variation in habitat degradation and the mismatch between goose hatching phenology and plant phenology (climatic shift) on early-life growth, and consequences on population dynamics. This involved living in the field for a few months at a time among polar bears, jumping out of a helicopter, and sprinting after flocks of hundreds of geese across the tundra.
