Biography

I am passionate about using data to bridge the gap between basic ecology and natural resources management, including the conservation of biodiversity. I use statistical models to quantify and understand the effects of land-use and climate change on species’ performance, abundance, and geographic distributions, through the lens of the demographic niche. By quantifying the major drivers of population dynamics, I seek to improve ecological forecasting under alternative management scenarios and accelerate the process of adaptive management.

In my Master’s research, I created a climate-sensitive version of a forestry growth and yield model using the information contained in tree-ring time series data. The new model can be incorporated into a U.S. Forest Service management tool, the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), which simulates forest dynamics.