The objective of my Ph.D. thesis is to quantify ecosystem-level consequences of plant invasions. Linking changes in ecosystem function to the presence of particular plant invader is difficult. Evidenced by the lack of quantitative studies on this subject. Another central theme of my research is to explore the ecological processes that are most responsible for the increased survival, increased fecundity, rapid spread and hence the exponential increase in population abundance of an alien colonist. In an effort to more effectively address these issues, I plan to study plant communities on islands.
Islands form smaller and less complicated ecosystems than do neighboring continents.
As such, they are easier to study. I'm interested in vertebrate sexual dimorphism in trophic morphology. I'm looking at whether such variation in threespine stickleback is due to sexual or ecological selection, and how it may influence or constrain diversification. I am interested in ecological modeling, in particular population dynamics. DiBitetti, Mario Entered F94, Fac.