Mail: Department of Biology
111 Bartram Hall, PO Box 118525
Gainesville, FL 32611-8525
Robert D. HoltDirector |
111 Bartram Hall
352.392.6917
e-mail: rdholt@ufl.edu
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My core personal research focuses on theoretical and conceptual issues at the population and community levels of ecological organization, and on the task of linking ecology with evolutionary biology. In addition to basic research, I am interested in bringing modern ecological theory to bear on significant applied problems, particularly in conservation biology. I have also carried out large-scale experiments on habitat fragmentation. My students include both theoreticians and empirical, experimental ecologists. I have historically collaborated with many faculty at a wide range of institutions, both inside and outside the USA. Web page with links to publications.
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Mary ChristmanCourtesy Associate Professor 110 Bartram Hall e-mail: marycchristman@gmail.com |
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My background and interests are at the intersection of statistical methodology and environmental and ecological research. My current interests include development and application of statistical methods for spatial modeling of community structure and species abundances; accounting for uncertainty and sampling error in models of population dynamics; analyses when data are zero-inflated; developing sampling designs and estimators for rare and elusive species; linear and non-linear mixed models; hierarchical modeling; and sampling strategies for spatial data analysis. I collaborate and consult with scientists across many disciplines, including agriculture and natural resources, zoology, ecology, human nutrition, fisheries, and wildlife conservation. Curriculum vitae.
Robert UlanowiczProfessor Emeritus of Theoretical Ecology, University of Maryland 110 Bartram Hall |
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I have spent my career on Chesapeake Bay creating quantitative methods to analyze networks of trophic transfers. I have developed methods that quantify indirect effects, trophic hierarchies, domains of recycling and whole system indexes of ecosystem organization and flexibility. In the process, I have reached the conclusion that the dynamics of ecosystems are hardly mechanical, but rather dual and dialectic-like. Consequently, I have proposed a perspective on nature that is predicated on processes rather than on objects and laws. My current interest is in promulgating the necessity of indeterminacy for ecosystem sustainability. In economic terms, the implication is that parallel, alternative currencies are likely required to impart sustainability to local and national economies. More than anyone ever wanted to know about me can be found at http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan.
Michael BarfieldAssistant Scientist 111 Bartram Hall e-mail: mjb01@ufl.edu |
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I have worked at the Ecological Sciences Laboratory doing research on theoretical population biology since 2001. Publications are available through the link below, and include research on adaptation in source-sink systems (Holt et al. 2003, 2004a, 2004b, 2005; Holt and Barfield 2008, 2009b), infectious disease ecology (Orive et al. 2005; Holt and Barfield 2006; Wayne et al. 2011; Smith et al. 2015; Barfield et al. 2015; Tuncer et al. 2016; Levi et al. 2016), effects of temporal variation on populations (Holt and Barfield 2003; Holt et al. 2003, 2004b; Roy et al. 2005), evolution (Knight et al. 2008; Barfield et al. 2011), species ranges (Holt et al. in 2011; Holt and Barfield 2011; Filin et al. 2008) and arctic lake ecology (O’Brien et al. 2004, 2005). Web page with links to publications.
I am very broadly interested in ecology and evolution. My dissertation work focuses on how the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes affects adaptation to harsh environments. The majority of my work involves the use of mathematical models or computer simulations, but I strive to combine theoretical predictions with experimental tests whenever possible. Thus, I am using experimental evolution in yeast systems to test some of my theoretical predictions regarding adaptation to harsh environments. I am a strong proponent of the importance of theoretical work in biology and I believe that theoretical and empirical biologists must work together in order to advance our understanding of natural systems.
I am interested in spatial, population, and community ecology, and applications of ecological theory, sampling design, and statistical analysis to management and conservation of populations and communities. For my dissertation research I am using the metacommunity framework (in which a group of local communities is linked by the dispersal of interacting species) to understand spatial variation in herbivore impacts on and demographic impacts to plant populations, with an emphasis on a “metacommunity module” of a few host plant species (native Florida prickly pear cacti [Opuntia species]) interacting with a few herbivore species, including the invasive South American Cactoblastis cactorum. I am exploring how these interactions among species scale from local settings to regional assemblages, both in basic ecology and in applied contexts.
Visiting Scientists
I am interested in Biodiversity and Ecology of organisms and their environments. My research addresses especially systematics, biology and ecology of aquatic insects. My research has been conducted in the Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, State University of São Paulo (UNESP), Campus Assis, São Paulo State, Brazil. The field work (sampling and experiments) has been conducted mainly in streams and rivers of different Brazilian biomes including Amazon Forest, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah). Currently, I am in a Sabbatical Year in Robert D. Holt’s Lab (University of Florida), where I am using datasets about aquatic insects and algae from streams of Atlantic Forest (Brazil) to test hypotheses about the diversity and structure of metacommunities.
My main research interest has been focused on the application of ecological theory in the analysis of spatial and temporal distribution patterns of organisms from lotic ecosystems, particularly stream macroalgae. During this one-year period as a visiting researcher, I intend to apply, considering data sets from southern and southeastern Brazil, the conceptual metacommunity framework to assess the relative effects of environmental and spatial factors on beta diversity of macroalgae and aquatic insect communities of tropical streams at different spatial scales.
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