RESEARCH PROJECTS
My research combines long-term data analysis, manipulative mesocosm experiments, and simulation modelling to understand how phenological shifts affect the dynamics of natural communities. I am interested in the individual differences in timing that create a distribution of phenological events at the population scale. How do our measurements of phenological shifts change if we consider the whole population, and not just the first or average individuals? How do differences in the shapes of phenological distributions impact population survival, per capita differences among individuals, and interactions with other species?
To see overviews of my analyses for different projects, check out my RPubs account.
To see overviews of my analyses for different projects, check out my RPubs account.
frog call recordsUsing an 18-year daily record of calls for the 12 most abundant frog & toad species in Texas, I measure how breeding phenology has shifted over time, how these shifts have altered temporal overlap of competing species, and how sensitive estimates for phenological shifts are to our measurement standards. Key results from this study indicate that temporal overlap of breeding between these frogs has increased. Importantly, these shifts could could only be detected by considering the whole distribution of phenological events. Read more about this work here. |
mesocosm experimentsCattle tank mesocosms provide a great system for testing effects of phenology on natural communities. These tanks are large enough to mimic natural ponds but small enough to replicate and manage treatments. Furthermore, I can manipulate the phenology of the organisms (tadpoles, salamanders, dragonflies) by keeping their eggs in a cold room. This allows me to reproduce phenological patterns we see in nature and measure the outcomes on communities. In one experiment, I tested how shifts in the phenological distribution alter the fitness of two competing tadpole species. Read about that here. |
simulation modelsModelling allows me to generalize my results beyond my amphibian system. My simulation models test how different types of shifts in the phenological distribution (e.g., shifts in mean, variation, skew) affect survival and competitive outcomes between two species across different ecological contexts. With simulation models, I can explore a wide range of parameter space to determine under what circumstances phenological shifts are likely to be most important for natural communities. |