We combine observational data with statistical modeling approaches to investigate questions
at the interface of ecological theory and conservation biology.
The primary goals of our research are to:
1) Identify mechanisms that structure tropical vertebrate communities across spatial scales
2) Understand how tropical mammals and birds respond to global change
3) Apply results to biodiversity conservation
Community and MacroecologyWe study the drivers of variation in communities across taxonomic groups, ecological systems and spatial scales, with emphasis on tropical mammals and birds and the resources they require.
|
Global Change BiologyHabitat loss and climate change are two of the most critical threats to biodiversity worldwide. We study how these aspects of global change affect tropical vertebrate diversity and local extinction risk.
|
Conservation BiologyWe conduct research in collaboration with TEAM, a
global tropical biodiversity monitoring network. (Photo: Benjamin Drummond) |
Statement of support for racial equality and diversity
As a lab we express solidarity with the Biosciences Department and Rice University leadership to combat the racism, discrimination, and inequality, which not only permeate our society but occur in academia as well. Although we recognize we have substantial work to do, we are firmly committed to work towards Rice University's stated goals of expanding and supporting diversity and fostering inclusiveness in our lab. We recognize and celebrate the contributions of diverse perspectives, ideas and backgrounds in all our endeavors. We commit ourselves to creating welcoming, safe spaces and we invite feedback and conversations so that we can continue to do better.
Our lab policies are available here.
Lab News
May 2022: Annie Finneran accepts the offer to join our lab and the EEB PhD program in the fall! Welcome to the lab, Annie, we are thrilled you are joining us!
Congratulations to Dan on receiving a Vaughn Fellowship from the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies! This award is given annually to a very limited number of Rice graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and promise.
Congratulations to Chia on receiving the top travel award from the Institute for Biosciences and Bioengineering!
Tropical Ecology & Conservation group dinner at Lydia's house!
Congratulations to Dan on receiving a travel award from the Biosciences Department to attend this year's Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meeting in Cartagena, Colombia
April 2022: Congratulations to Chia on successfully defending her dissertation proposal and passing her qualifying exam!
March 2022: Lydia is awarded an internal grant from the Rice University Faculty Initiative Fund in collaboration with Amy Dunham and Meng Li! The research is entitled "Identifying the environmental drivers of tropical wildlife diversity".
February 2022: Lydia gives an invited (virtual) seminar for Texas Tech's Department of Natural Resource Management.
Lydia is awarded an internal grant from the Rice University Sustainable Futures Fund in collaboration with Cesar Uribe from Electrical and Computer Engineering! The research is entitled 'Identifying anthropogenic impacts on tropical wildlife through multi-scale and multi-modal network ecology using graph matching and alignmnent'.
Historic announcement from the President and Provost of Rice University about commitments to environmental sustainability through the Rice's endowment, campus operations, fundraising, and research!
Farewell to our visiting student Ilaria Greco as she returns to Italy. It was wonderful having you here!
January 2022: The organized oral session for ESA 2022 in Montreal that Chia and Lydia put together has been accepted! The session is entitled "Macroecology of trophic interactions in a changing work" and has six featured speakers who will be joining us from the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.
Sarah Yao, an undergraduate computer science major, joins the lab group for the semester!
December 2021: Tropical Ecology and Conservation lab lunch at the Faculty Club
November 2021: Chia receives travel awards from the Biosciences Department and the International Biogeography Society to attend the International Biogeography meeting in Vancouver, Canada!
Welcome to Ilaria Greco, our visiting PhD student from the University of Florence who will be with our lab for the next three months!
October 2021: Dan leaves - at long last following pandemic delays - for field work in Tanzania at Udzungwa Mountains National Park in the Eastern Arc Mountains
September 2021: Tropical Ecology and Conservation group meeting with the Dunham lab is back! We have also kicked off a new group meeting with Kory Evans and Matt McCary focused on integrating macroevolution and food webs!
August 2021: Dan is selected by the Dean of Natural Sciences as a recipient of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Award for $2000 for his outstanding academic performance and involvement in leadership activities. Congratulations, Dan!
Kristin Brandon joins the lab as a PhD student in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Program at Rice and the EEB Worden Fellow. Welcome to Houston and to Rice, Kristin!
Chia, Dan, and Lydia each present research for the virtual ESA annual meeting,
July 2021: New article entitled "Biotic and abiotic drivers of dispersion dynamics in a large-bodied tropical vertebrate, the Western Bornean orangutan" published in Oecologia. Andy Marshall led the paper in collaboration for the final analysis with Elise Zipkin and her PhD student Matt Farr. Lydia contributed to data processing, early stages of analysis and editing of the manuscript.
Lydia returns from leave
June 2021: Lydia gives an invited presentation for the American Society of Mammalogists annual meeting on "Functional ecology and conservation of tropical forest mammals in protected areas worldwide" in the the symposium "Frontiers in trait-based mammalian ecology" organized by Tara Smiley and Brooks Kohli.
Congratulations to Chia on winning a $16,000 scholarship from the Taiwanese Ministry of Education and the ONLY award in ecology!
May 2021: Congratulations to incoming PhD student Kristin on being awarded the Dean of Natural Sciences Worden Fellowship for 2021-2022!
April 2021: Lydia joins the editorial advisory board for Ethology, Ecology and Evolution.
Congratulations to Dan for winning the $15,000 Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship!
Lydia is invited to join the IUCN Species Survival Commission Species Monitoring Specialist Group for the 2021-2024 quadrennium.
March 2021: Lydia gives an invited seminar for the University of Liverpool School of Environmental Sciences entitled "Global ecology and conservation of tropical forest mammals in protected areas".
Lab picnic to celebrate all of Dan and Chia's hard work and accomplishments!
February 2021: Dan's new article published in Proceeding B and his photograph of an elephant taken in Tanzania was selected for the cover!
Kristin Brandon accepts offer to join the lab in the fall of 2021 as a PhD student. We are thrilled!
January 2021: Dan's manuscript entitled "Tropical mammal functional diversity increases with productivity but decreases with anthropogenic disturbance" accepted by Proceedings B. Congratulations, Dan!
Lydia is on leave for spring 2021 and will not be taking service requests during this time.
Check out previous lab news in our News Archives
