Where of When Lab (WoWLab)

Average terrestrial ecosystem seasonality. Forcing each pixel to cycle between its own minimum (tan) and maximum (dark green) draws out the complex global geography of seasonal timing.

Organisms are influenced by environmental variation, both in space and in time. Yet ecologists tend to ignore the combination of the two: the geography of timing. We study maps of average conditions, without considering whether their seasonal cycles are everywhere the same. We run analyses that assume the rate of environmental change is the same everywhere (even zero!).

This is sometimes justifiable. But it can also prevent us from seeing interesting and important dynamics. I seek out these blind spots, to understand how the geography of timing controls the processes that generate biodiversity and maintain it in the face of global change. Some of this work is theoretical and fundmental. Some of it is directly applicable to conservation and land management. All of it is fun. (At least, I think so.)

Acknowledgements:

This site is derived from the academicpages.github.io template.