animal movement under global change
Movement is a fundamental process that shapes an animal’s space use and interactions with others, making it an integral part of dynamic spatial and interaction models. This integration requires a comprehensive understanding of how movement is influenced by species traits and how movement patterns change under different environmental conditions. My research focuses on how movement responds to temperature and light pollution—two key drivers of global change. To address this, I conduct meta-studies and laboratory experiments, including:
- Using image-based tracking to assess responses in movement speed to temperature
- Tracking activity patterns under heat extremes with RFID technology in experimental mesocosms
- Investigating diel niche shifts in response to artificial light at night
I integrate insights from these experiments, along with other fundamental ecological processes, into various ecological models to predict the consequences of animal movement at larger spatial and organizational scales.
light pollution in complex ecological systems
Compared to other anthropogenic drivers of global change, such as climate warming, light pollution is unprecedented in both its rate of change and its sheer existence in Earth’s history. While it is well known that species exhibit diverse and context-dependent behavioral and physiological responses to artificial light at night, a major gap remains in understanding how these effects scale up to higher levels of ecological organization, such as communities and interaction networks. Light pollution influences species interactions primarily by altering activity patterns, which in turn affects encounter rates. However, these effects are highly species-specific, making it challenging to predict broader ecological consequences. My research aims to improve our understanding of how light pollution shapes complex ecological networks such as food webs by
- Investigating diel niche shifts across taxonomic groups in response to light pollution
- Assessing how diel niches influence food web structure
- Modeling how light pollution alters interaction strengths and network structure in food webs
ecological forecasting
Ecological forecasting is a critical priority in global change research, yet our ability to predict the dynamics and stability of entire communities remains limited. Models of complex ecological systems can enhance forecasting at the community level, but this requires an integrated approach grounded in a mechanistic understanding of how global change affects the fundamental underlying processes influencing species composition and interactions. To advance this goal, I aim to combine spatial and food web models and simulate their dynamics under environmental change using climate projections. This approach can provide insights into how community stability and functioning will shift under global change.