Flow ecology and environmental flows
One of the most pressing issues of global change is maintaining instream flows for biotic integrity in the face of ever-increasing water demand. Instream flow, deemed the “master variable”, shapes the physical processes, water quality, biological components, and energy transfer that drive the ecological characteristics of freshwater systems. Natural flow regime, defined as the timing, magnitude, frequency, duration, and rate of change of flow events, is crucial for maintaining freshwater biodiversity and ecological integrity. Each flow regime component and their inherent variability help define a unique physical templet that acts as ecological filters as well as a selective force to differentially shape the ecological and evolutionary characteristics of freshwater systems. Altering the natural flow regime can cause adverse changes in biotic and abiotic characteristics of freshwater ecosystems, presenting a serious conservation concern. Our lab strives to understanding the relationship between the aquatic organisms and the flow regime to better inform environmental flow standards and the conservation of aquatic species.
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Functional ecology
Functional traits are the ‘building blocks of species’, mediating the interaction between organisms and their environment. Accordingly, traits provide a lens for examining nearly every problem in ecology across levels of biological organization, niche dimensions, spatial scales, and taxa groups. Functional traits also provide a framework for exploring effects of habitat alteration on aquatic organisms, exploring ecological theory, and fish evolution. This versatility allows us to address many interesting ecological, evolutionary, and conservation questions across the globe.
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Intraspecific variation
Many species exhibit trait differences between populations and within populations or intraspecific trait variation. Intraspecific trait variation is often attributed to abiotic and biotic selective pressures acting on labile traits and can strongly influence ecology processes. Studying the causes of and incorporating intraspecific variation in ecological models is important for increasing our understanding of ecological principles, for making predictions about species responses to environmental change, and for the management and conservation of species impacted by global change. Intraspecific trait variation provides us with an avenue to explore ecological and evolutionary questions as well as enhance the management and conservation of species. |