Research

I am broadly interested in population and community ecology, statistical ecology and biogeography, insect-plant interactions, and sampling and monitoring design in ecology and conservation. My field research employs insect communities and insect-host plant systems to answer basic questions about the population dynamics of pest insects and the structure of insect communities. My interests in statistical ecology and biogeography lie in developing probabilistic statistical procedures for the analysis of biogeographic data and in developing a framework for rigorous hypothesis testing and statistical inference using both ex­perimental and non-experimental evidence in ecology. My work on sampling design focuses on questions concerning the optimal design and allocation of effort in monitoring plant, bird, and bee populations and communities.

My recent research has focused on trying to determine the mechanism by which insects induce plant gall (tumors) and its evolution, developing hierarchical models for abundance data, and automating avian population monitoring.