How climate change is affecting wildlife?

As climate records are broken every year, many ecological systems might be at risk. I aim to identify which natural habitats are at risk and why, and the strategies that animals can use to cope with climate change. 

To answer these questions, I combine knowledge from computer science, data science, mathematics, ecology, and physiology to simulate virtual environments. There, I test the ability of organisms to grow, survive, and reproduce under past and future climatic conditions.

MY RESEARCH TOPICS

Ecological Modeling

Animals are in constant interaction with their surrounding environment and are mostly well adapted to the climate in their natural habitat. But despite numerous studies suggesting what responses should be expected under climate change, we still lack deep understanding on why the current biological responses have occurred and what we should expect in the future. 

​I develop models that enable one to explore how organisms would perform under specific environmental conditions  based on data and theories from ecology, physiology, and environmental studies. 
 

Empirical Research

I  gather and analyze field observations to better understand how and why climate, competition, and predation  affect organisms.  

I also use field and laboratory observations to inform my models, or to validate their output. Information such as energy and water requirements, and temperature tolerances are especially important for ecological predictions. 

Spatial Simulations

The scaling of ecological models from organisms to populations is crucial for predicting the distribution of biodiversity in the future. For this purpose, I run ecological simulations at regional to global scales. Such spatial analysis may highlight regions at which populations are vulnerable to climate change, and suggest which natural habitats should be preserved to protect a particular area's diversity.