Team

Carys Goldsmith PhD student (co-advised with Dr. Greg Grether)

Carys is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She is interested in applying theoretical frameworks to model species interactions between mesopredators. Her research aims to analyze how climate change is altering patterns of species coexistence between generalist and specialist mesopredators, and she hopes to apply her findings at the conservation level.

Current question: how does climate change alter coexistence between generalist and specialist mesopredators?

Background

• BS in Ecology and Evolution @ UCSB

Zhiru Guoli PhD student

Zhiru is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His research focuses on scale mismatches in ecological modelling. Through developing novel theoretical interpretations and methodologies, he aims to integrate ecological findings across scales and apply these unified perspectives to better safeguard threatened biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems.

Current work includes a submitted manuscript using alpha shapes to measure functional richness.

Background

• BA in Natural Sciences (Zoology) @ University of Cambridge

Mingyu Luo Postdoctoral researcher

Mingyu’s research goal is to offer new insights on classic ecological theories of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and stability, and to help provide implications to ecosystem conservation and management practices. His postdoc research focuses on the intrinsic connections among ecosystem complexity, stability and productivity.

Current work includes submitted manuscripts on structural sensitivity and on when heterogeneity averages out in ecological communities.

Background

• PhD in Ecology @ Peking University
• BS in Mathematics @ Peking University

Dillon Max PhD student

Dillon is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He is interested in the dynamics of ecological systems and the mechanisms that give rise to community assembly, species coexistence and biodiversity. He aims to use theoretical methods supplemented with empirical data to systematically address real-world threats to ecosystem stability.

Current work includes testing plant–soil feedback models and developing theory for multispecies coexistence; these manuscripts are submitted.

Background

• BS in Integrative Biology and Mathematics, minor in Chemistry @ UIUC

Timo Metz Postdoctoral researcher (co-advised with Dr. Nicholas Hendershot)

Timo combines ecological theory and empirical data analysis to find out how ecosystems respond to and recover from disturbances. His research aims at identifying which strategies may foster ecosystem recovery to provide robust guidelines for conservation science.

Current work includes a submitted study comparing hazard reduction and ecological restoration in western US fuel treatments.

Background

• PhD in Physics and Biology @ TU Darmstadt, Germany
• MS in Physics @ Heidelberg University, Germany
• BS in Physics and Biology @ Marburg University, Germany

Chuliang Song Assistant Professor

Chuliang is a theoretical and computational ecologist. His research connects model testing, coexistence and community assembly to ask what can be inferred about ecological dynamics from incomplete observations. A long-term aim is to improve predictions under environmental change.

Background

• PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering @ MIT
• BS in Mathematics @ Zhejiang University