As a theoretical ecologist interested in deciphering the rules that govern biological communities, I am motivated by the awe-inspiring diversity of ecological communities and inspired by the processes responsible for generating and maintaining biodiversity
Structure and Functioning of Ecological communities
Describing community structure and understanding its function is essential to our knowledge of ecological communities. I’ve been particularly interested in unraveling the role of different biological properties in structuring communities. We’ve been investigating this tropic under three lenses:
(1) I’ve been puzzled by how different trade-offs in resource use affect species diversity and coexistence.
(2) I’m interested in understanding the circumstances under which higher order interactions can (de-)stabilize ecological communities.
(3) I’m fascinated by how relatedness between species given their shared evolutionary history determines patterns of species interactions and they coexistence
Atlantic Forest in Brazil
Coevolutionary Dynamics
Greya moth on a Lithophragma plant
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Echoing Rachel Carson "In nature nothing exists alone" and hence species do not live in isolation. They interact with other species in ways that shape their ecological dynamics and evolution. These interactions between species can result in multiple forms of reciprocal evolutionary change, called coevolution. Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that the coevolutionary process can differ among environments and among genetically distinct populations with different traits. I am interested in understanding how the spatial structure of interacting species can influence their coevolutionary dynamics.
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Intrapopulational variation in resource use
Sea otter resting in the kelp
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Niche is a central concept in ecology. Traditionally, population’s niche has been measured as the sum of individuals’ niche. Thus, niche variation across individuals is overlooked as some stochastic variation in resource use. However, several studies have demonstrated that within populations, individuals can use resources differently. More importantly, incorporating such differences in individual niches can alter the outcome of population dynamics, as it allows for density-dependent effects. I am interested in unraveling what underlies individual variation and understanding how such variation is organized within populations.
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