Most of my research to date relates to whole-organism performance and how it is influenced by changes in the environment. This broad theme involves three main topics: i. traits that are essential for organism functioning; ii. the environment that is perceived by the organism and how much the environment varies and, iii. the strategies or adaptations that organisms use to cope with variable or sub-optimal environments.
I have addressed these topics in a variety of organisms and often joined several of these topics as they are tightly interlinked and constitute the backbone of integrative organismal biology or 'functional ecology'. For example, to predict the likely responses of organisms to rapid temperature change, both the assessment of mechanisms that are most limiting to organism performance and the environmental conditions experienced by the organism are needed. My research has included several approaches: experimental biology, biophysical ecology and macrophysiology, using both “model” and atypical (“non-model”) systems to answer the question at hand. The emphasis on the level of the individual organism and on mechanistic underpinnings allows the implementation of bottom-up approaches and examining evolutionary and ecological consequences at the community, population and ecosystem levels.
I have addressed these topics in a variety of organisms and often joined several of these topics as they are tightly interlinked and constitute the backbone of integrative organismal biology or 'functional ecology'. For example, to predict the likely responses of organisms to rapid temperature change, both the assessment of mechanisms that are most limiting to organism performance and the environmental conditions experienced by the organism are needed. My research has included several approaches: experimental biology, biophysical ecology and macrophysiology, using both “model” and atypical (“non-model”) systems to answer the question at hand. The emphasis on the level of the individual organism and on mechanistic underpinnings allows the implementation of bottom-up approaches and examining evolutionary and ecological consequences at the community, population and ecosystem levels.
Fields: Physiological and Evolutionary Ecology; Biophysical Ecology
Keywords: ectotherms; thermal adaptation; basal physiological traits; inducible phenotypic plasticity; melanism; allometry; thermoregulation; climate change; fundamental and realised niches; geographic distributions; species assemblages; functional diversity