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.
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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 patterns of tropical vertebrate diversity and local extinction risk.
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Conservation BiologyWe conduct research in collaboration with TEAM, a global biodiversity monitoring network and partnership between Conservation International, the Smithsonian Institute and the Wildlife Conservation Society
(Photo: Benjamin Drummond) |
News
October 2018: Paper entitled "Local temperature and ecological similarity drive distributional dynamics of tropical mammals worldwide" accepted by Global Ecology and Biogeography
Paper entitled "Distributional shifts in a biodiversity hotspot" accepted by Biological Conservation
September 2018: New article published online in Oryx: Detecting tropical wildlife declines through camera-trap monitoring: an evaluation of the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring protocol
August 2018: Lydia is invited to attend the 10th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China and present on the Biological Consequences of Global Change
Dan Gorczynski joins the lab as a PhD student in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Program at Rice and the EEB Worden Fellow. Welcome, Dan, and congratulations on your fellowship!
Lydia gives keynote address at the 2018 BioSciences at Rice Symposium
New article published online in Annual Review of Anthropology: Effects of environmental stress on primate populations
July 2018: Lydia officially joins the BioSciences faculty at Rice University
October 2018: Paper entitled "Local temperature and ecological similarity drive distributional dynamics of tropical mammals worldwide" accepted by Global Ecology and Biogeography
Paper entitled "Distributional shifts in a biodiversity hotspot" accepted by Biological Conservation
September 2018: New article published online in Oryx: Detecting tropical wildlife declines through camera-trap monitoring: an evaluation of the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring protocol
August 2018: Lydia is invited to attend the 10th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China and present on the Biological Consequences of Global Change
Dan Gorczynski joins the lab as a PhD student in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Program at Rice and the EEB Worden Fellow. Welcome, Dan, and congratulations on your fellowship!
Lydia gives keynote address at the 2018 BioSciences at Rice Symposium
New article published online in Annual Review of Anthropology: Effects of environmental stress on primate populations
July 2018: Lydia officially joins the BioSciences faculty at Rice University
