A5022218040- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Urban Green Space and Health
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Plant and animal studies
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Urban Heat Island Mitigation
- Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Insect behavior and control techniques
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Insect and Pesticide Research
National Park Service
2022
University of Maryland, Baltimore
2017-2022
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
2016-2021
Abstract Despite high levels of disturbance and habitat modification, urban ecosystems still host substantial biodiversity. The processes that maintain existing diversity, however, remain understudied. Identifying the links between ecological patterns has, therefore, become a fundamental research goal to support biodiversity ecosystem functioning. We conducted study determine how diversity composition plant communities is affected by spatially temporally variable land use legacies....
Abstract Whether cities are more or less diverse than surrounding environments, and the extent to which non‐native species in impact regional pools, remain two fundamental yet unanswered questions urban ecology. Here we offer a unifying framework for understanding mechanisms that generate biodiversity patterns across taxonomic groups spatial scales systems. One commonality between existing frameworks is collective recognition co‐occurrence locally not simply function of natural colonization...
Abstract High nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted heat mitigation effects vegetation, the magnitude variability vegetation-derived cooling differs greatly among cities. We hypothesize that is driven by vegetation density whose effect regulated aridity through increasing transpiration. test this hypothesis deploying microclimate sensors across eight United States cities investigating...
Many studies have investigated species diversity patterns across space and time, but few explored of coexistence tightly interacting species. We documented in a host-parasitoid system broad geographic location seasons. calculated (H eH ') compared the relationship between community similarity distances frugivorous Drosophila host (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Leptopilina parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) communities Eastern North America, from New Hampshire to Florida, at two time points during...
Mounting evidence indicates that accounting for intraspecific trait variability (ITV) in ecological studies can strengthen the signal of trait-environment relationships, as well provide insights into eco-evolutionary strategies allow species to establish and persist different environments. Such information is particularly valuable urban systems where unique environmental conditions impose strong filtering effects on where, despite such pressures, high proportions non-native persist. In...
Recreational urban parks support diverse assemblages of plants that through their functions, contribute beneficial services to billions individuals throughout the world. Drivers vegetation-derived in are complex, as climate and park management interact with functioning multiple species vegetation types. Yet, informal observations suggest recreational constructed consistently specific principles landscape design. Here we ask: what patterns functional traits diversity cities varying United...
Abstract Despite a growing literature‐base devoted to document biodiversity patterns in cities, little is known about the processes that influence these patterns, and whether they are consistent over time. In particular, numerous studies have identified capacity of cities host rich diversity plant species. This trend, however, driven primarily by introduced species, which comprise large proportion urban species pool relative natives. Using an experimental common garden study, we assessed...
Abstract Cultivated exotic plants are often introduced for their aesthetic value and today comprise a substantial fraction of the flora urban domestic gardens. Yet, relative contribution to functional diversity gardens how it changes across different climate zones is insufficiently understood. Here, we investigated whether effects cultivated exotics on three plant traits related aesthetics (that is, showiness, height, leaf area) varied in suburban regions (Minnesota, USA; Alt Empordà, Spain;...
Abstract Question The harsh geophysical template characterized by the urban environment combined with people's choices has led ecologists to invoke environmental filtering as main ecological phenomenon explaining biodiversity patterns. Yet, dispersal is often overlooked a driving factor, especially on expanding vacant land. Does overcoming limitation seeding native species in environments and increasing functional or phylogenetic diversity of pool increase plant abundance land? Location...
Despite a growing literature-base devoted to documenting biodiversity patterns in cities, little is known about the processes that influence these patterns, and whether they are consistent over time. In particular, numerous studies have identified capacity of cities host rich diversity plant species. This trend, however, driven primarily by introduced species, which comprise large proportion urban species pool relative natives. Using an experimental common garden study, we assessed local...