In 1959, GE Hutchinson posed one of ecology’s most important questions: Why are there so many species? Yet what controls biodiversity remains a question still largely unanswered.
At the same time, the rate of biodiversity loss is currently greater than ever before. Multiple, global change factors such as nitrogen deposition, habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species all contribute to loss of biodiversity.
I study the mechanisms that control species diversity to better predict the consequences of global change to diversity. My work is centered on testing and developing biodiversity theory using experimental and observational studies of plant communities in combination with computer models.