Postdoctoral Research Scholar
San Diego State University Research Foundation
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Research Overview
My work focuses on leveraging scientific research to inform practical management strategies for addressing environmental challenges. Operating at the intersection of global change biology, community ecology, and biogeography, I integrate observational and experimental methods with advanced statistical modeling and machine learning to tackle critical issues driving biodiversity loss and ecological change.
Invasive Species Dynamics
An ongoing critical challenge in invasion ecology is the ability to predict invader responses to environmental change and their associated impacts on the native resident communities, especially in historically uninvaded systems such as North American drylands. Since biological invasions occur over distinct stages such as introduction (i.e. species introduced into novel ranges), establishment (i.e. species establishing self-sustaining populations), and spread (i.e. species dispersing and expanding their ranges), my research focuses on identifying the drivers and impacts of invasive species establishment and spread, as well as investigating effective strategies to manage biological invasions in temporally variable environments.
Restoration & Land Management
Collaboration between land practitioners and researchers is crucial in promoting the health of native plant populations and maintaining ecosystem services through effective restoration and land management. However, with rapid global change, it has become increasingly difficult to predict how species will respond to future conditions. To address this challenge, I collaborate with land practitioners and researchers to leverage empirical data and ecological theory to determine optimal implementation strategies in variable environments.
Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change
As a part of the collaborative CNNCTS project, my research focuses on co-producing knowledge with the Tribal Working Group to assess the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of culturally significant species to climate change. The findings of this research will help us develop better strategies for conservation and restoration efforts in the future
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