Research overview
Population dynamics are governed by two processes: demography (births and deaths) and dispersal. Overlaid on these two main ingredients are the two dimensions over which population dynamics play out: time and space. From this perspective, the science of population biology is surprisingly simple. There are two dimensions along which populations may change (time and space) and two mechanisms that can drive those changes (demography and dispersal). Yet, the sources of variation in demography and dispersal are daunting. These include: individual traits such as size, age, sex, or genotype; abiotic forcing such as climate change; within-species interactions such as mating and competition; between-species interactions such as predation or mutualism; and finally, plain old chance. While we work on diverse questions and systems, our work is united by the broad goal of understanding how demographic responses to abiotic and biotic environmental variation influence patterns of distribution and abundance.
Our work relies heavily on mathematical models, especially structured population models, which allow us to connect individual-level demography and dispersal to population-level processes. Some of this work is purely theoretical, some of it is purely empirical, but the majority lies at the interface of theory and data. Statistical modeling is a central part of our research because it is the glue that binds theory and data.
You can browse the pages below to learn more about our current projects.
Our work relies heavily on mathematical models, especially structured population models, which allow us to connect individual-level demography and dispersal to population-level processes. Some of this work is purely theoretical, some of it is purely empirical, but the majority lies at the interface of theory and data. Statistical modeling is a central part of our research because it is the glue that binds theory and data.
You can browse the pages below to learn more about our current projects.