A mixed-use landscape in Costa Rica
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My primary research focus is on understanding how the conversion of natural habitats to human uses (either agriculture or residential development) impacts biodiversity. I principally study insect biodiversity, but given their importance in food webs and ecosystems, I also consider patterns of plant diversity and bird diversity regularly. I study these impacts using classical field research methods, emerging lab-based genetic techniques, and computer models. I have worked on these questions both in Costa Rica and the northeastern United States.
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Modeled bird abundance throughout Costa Rica
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While I have been trained principally as a field ecologist, I recognize the need to scale local results to relevant to management and policy decisions. I therefore seek to complement my empirical work with spatial models of biodiversity; including; the distribution of species, the spatial patterns of habitat types, and variability in ecosystem structure. This work pulls both from primary data I have collected in the field as well as publicly available data and spans spatial scales from national (Costa Rica) to regional (the neotropics) to global.
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A field infested with mile-a-minute weed in Delaware
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While not currently an active area of research, I remain very interested in invasive species, biological control, and restoration ecology. I have worked extensively in both agricultural and natural systems throughout the northeastern United States to understand the impacts of invasive species (both plants and insects), their potential control using insect biological control agents, and the subsequent restoration of natural habitats.
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