Research
Global predictors of vulnerability: species’ traits and human impacts
Human impacts are currently widespread, yet impacts do not affect all areas or species equally. We seek to understand global-scale patterns in biodiversity loss and the human impacts driving those trends. Our group and collaborators such as Luca Santini have developed predictive models of mammalian extinction risk considering species traits, socioeconomic factors and threats, as well as their interactions. Ultimately, we aim to identify functional relationships, interactions and trade-offs between key species traits, the socioeconomic context and the demographic parameters that influence population dynamics and hence, extinction risk.
©Danilo Russo
@Héctor Garrido
Intraspecific variation and population dynamics
Ecologists have long been interested in understanding how variation among individuals influences population and community dynamics. Variation among individuals can influence demographic traits such as growth, survival, and fecundity directly as well as via feedbacks from population dynamics to individual life history and vice versa. Our research has underscored the importance of intraspecific variation in global predictive models of extinction risk and introduction success of alien species. We are exploring how variability can affect insect dynamics in laboratory conditions, including pest and biocontrol species. We have also explored this question using a diversity of modeling approaches from detailed physiologically structured population models to matrix and count-based models applied to a population viability analyses framework.
Road ecology: behavioural impacts and roadkill
Road ecology is a rising sub-discipline of the field of conservation biology as a consequence of the worldwide development of road-networks and associated motorized traffic. We are interested in assessing and predicting the impacts of roads and traffic on different species including roadkill risk and behavioural changes. Working with Mara Mulero and Marcello D'Amico we haved gathered empirical data to better understand the response of ungulates to roads and traffic in South Africa. In collaboration with Clara Grilo we are also looking at roadkill developing predictive models of risk to determine which are the most vulnerable species and the most affected areas.
@Marcel Huijser
@Ester Polaina Lacambra
Understanding large scale patterns: macroecology and biogeography
Since the days of Wallace and Darwin ecologists and biogeographers have been interested in describing and understanding large-scale diversity patterns. Our team and collaborators are working to contribute to this understanding in different ways: exploring patterns in mammalian dietary preferences and body size distributions, and to understand vertebrate species assemblages (define biogeographical regions).