Aaron's work is rooted in theory, concepts, and methods from ecology, biogeography, remote sensing and spatial analysis. Although his research has been rather broad, in the systems studied, approaches taken, and questions asked, there are several dominant themes. At the most basic level, he studies interactions between biological and physical systems, with particular emphasis on how these dynamics produce geographic patterns and temporal dynamics in the biosphere. Typically, he pursues his work using some combination of field data, remote sensing and other spatial data, environmental models, and quantitative analysis. Within this general context, he has focused his research on plant-water relations in California chaparral, ecosystem response to climate variability, patterns and causes of biodiversity, and habitat conservation. His research has spanned spatial scales from intercellular to global, but he gravitates towards what might be called "landscape" to "regional" scales. webpage. email.

Amanda is broadly interested in species distributions through time and space. In particular, she asks questions about animal movement and dispersal, from the scale of a single individual up to species range dynamics over evolutionary time. Her research approach integrates field studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling, and she applies her work to basic problems in conservation. Her previous work has ranged from the impact of suburban sprawl on endangered stream fish to hybrid zone dynamics in spadefoot toads. As a SPIRE postdoctoral fellow, Amanda is also interested in science education at the undergraduate level, and she dedicates some of her time to pedagogical research. Finally, she has an inordinate fondness for non-charismatic cold-blooded animals. SPIRE Webpage. email.

 

Ian’s research regards the complex interplay between invasive species, ecosystem services, and global change. He is currently developing a dissertation proposal to study the properties of heavily invaded plant communities on the Galapagos Islands in collaboration with the UNC Galapagos Initiative. Ian will use techniques from plant functional ecology and a landscape-scale eco-hydrological model to assess ecosystem services provisioned from native-dominated and invasive-dominated plant communities. webpage. email.

 

Christine is interested in the influence of land use and climate change on wildlife distribution and movements. She is currently investigating how the composition and configuration of semi-natural habitats affect the diversity and visitation rate of wild bees visiting squash flowers. Her other research interests include collaborative and community-based management and land-use history. research webpage. email.

 

 

Naomi is interested in broad-scale patterns of disturbance, especially fire, its interactions with human land-use, impacts on plant communities and role in shaping landscape patterns. She is also interested in the potential impacts of climate change and land-use change on disturbance regimes and in applying remote sensing, modeling, and field data to answer related questions. Her current work focuses on evaluating alternative fire management scenarios for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. email.

 

 

Lily is interested in how environmental, social, and political factors induce both internal and international human migration. She is currently working on a project to create a quality-of-life index for island states. This index will include indicators such as literacy, access to improved water and sanitation resources, gender empowerment, undernourishment, and income inequality. email.