My Research Interests

My research interests vary widely by ecosystem and organism, but focus on how ecosystems respond to perturbations, either natural or man-made, at scales ranging from the individual through the landscape. Observing how populations and landscapes respond to such perturbations can offer clues on how to manage or restore them.

Subsequently, I have been highly opportunistic. A stay in Athens, Georgia got me interested in understory herbs in the Great Smokey Mountains. A job in New York had me investigating why we had made the Northeast such a great place for deer, white-footed mice, and the deer tick, all ingredients of the Lyme disease cycle.

Most recently in both Alaska and Hawaii, heavy administrative demands on my time have conspired to make most of my research vicarious, done with teams or with grad students. An analysis of the extent of different types of ecosystems in Alaska was supposed to be followed by an analysis of how they differ in their perturbations or as the Alaska natives say, “the rhythms of the land.”

I am especially interested in conservation and in how seabirds make a living from the sea.