Research in the Terrestrial Ecology lab focuses on the consequences of global change for biotic interactions. How will biodiversity loss alter the structure, functioning, and persistence of ecological communities? What factors drive invasions by non-native species? What are the evolutionary consequences of altered biodiversity? And, finally, can an understanding of these complex, ecological interactions be used to inform conservation and management of natural ecosystems?

We try to answer these questions by integrating field experiments with behavioral biology, natural products chemistry, phylogenetics, quantitative genetics, and synthetic statistical analyses. Recent research themes include: (1) impacts of herbivores on plant diversity and invasions,(2) chemical ecology of plant-herbivore interactions, and (3) effects of biodiversity on populations, communities, and ecosystems. Most of our current projects are located in terrestrial communities in the temperate zone, but we have recently begun exploring the impacts of biotic interactions in tropical mangrove forests.