Astrobiology

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My research interests center around discovering universal laws of ecology, evolution, and metabolism that apply to life anywhere in the Universe, regardless of its chemistry or mode of living. This aim is shared with the emerging field of astrobiology.

My approach is multipronged. I work at developing biological theory based on fundamental principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. I compare and contrast biological phenomena across different levels of biological organization (e.g., unicellular vs multicellular organisms) and across extreme ranges of scales (e.g., from the smallest to the largest organisms) and environmental conditions, such as temperature and pH, in order to interrogate the universality of biological phenomena. And I develop models and theory to elucidate the degree to which various patterns in the distribution and early hierarchical evolution of life on Earth are idiosyncratic versus general phenomena expected to occur on any planet with life, given sufficient evolutionary time and energy availability.

Okie, J.G. and D. Storch. 2023. The equilibrium theory of biodiversity dynamics: a general framework for scaling species richness and community abundance along environmental gradients. BioXriv 07.17.549376; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.17.549376.

Libby, E., C. Kempes, and J.G. Okie. Metabolic compatibility and the rarity of endosymbioses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(17) e2206527120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2206527120.

Jiang, X, D.J. Van Horn, J.G. Okie, H.N. Buelow, E. Schwartz, D.R. Colman, K. Feeser, C.D. Takacs-Vesbach. Limits to the Three Domains of Life: Lessons from an Antarctic Salinity Gradient. Extremophiles 26:15. DOI: 10.1007/s00792-022-01262-3.

Okie, J.G., A.T. Poret-Peterson, Z.M.-P. Lee, L. Eguiarte, A. Richter, L.D. Alcaraz-Peraza, L.E. Eguiarte, J.L. Siefert, V. Souza, C.L. Dupont, and J.J. Elser. 2020. Genomic adaptations in information processing underpin trophic strategy in a whole-ecosystem nutrient experiment. eLife 9:e49816. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.49816

Okie, J.G., V.H. Smith, and M. Martin-Cereceda. 2016. Major evolutionary transitions of life, metabolic scaling, and the number and size of mitochondria and chloroplasts. Proc. Roc. Soc. B 283:20160611.

Okie, J.G., D.J. Van Horn, D. Storch, J.E. Barrett, M.N. Gooseff, L. Kopsova, and C.D. Takacs-Vesbach. 2015. Niche and metabolic principles explain patterns of diversity and distribution: theory and a case study with soil bacterial communities. Proc. Roc. Soc. B 282:20142630.

Marquet, P.A., A.P. Allen, J.H. Brown, J. Dunne, B.J. Enquist, J.F. Gillooly, P.A. Gowaty, J.L. Green, D. Storch, J. Harte, S.P. Hubbell, J. O´Dwyer, J.G. Okie, M. Ritchie, A. Ostling, and G.B. West. 2015. On the importance of first principles in ecological theory development. Bioscience 65:342-343.

Okie, J.G., A.G. Boyer, J.H. Brown, D.P. Costa, S.K.M. Ernest, A.R. Evans, M. Fortelius, J.L. Gittleman, M.J. Hamilton, L.E. Harding, K. Lintulaakso, S.K. Lyons, , J.J. Saarinen, F.A. Smith, P.R. Stephens, J. Theodor, M.D. Uhen, and R.M. Sibly. 2013. Effects of allometry, productivity, and lifestyle on rates and limits of body size evolution. Proc R Soc B 280: 20131007.

Okie, J.G. 2013. General models for the spectra of surface area scaling strategies of cells and organisms: fractality, geometric dissimilitude, and internalization. American Naturalist 181:421-439.

DeLong, J.P., J.G. Okie, M.E. Moses, R.M. Sibly, and J.H. Brown. 2010. Shifts in metabolic scaling, production, and efficiency across major evolutionary transitions of life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:12941-12945