Linking species and ecosystems – I generally study how wildlife interactions affect ecosystem processes and biodiversity, especially in forested systems. Research in my lab bridges the traditional gap between wildlife research at the scale of biology, community, and population with landscape-scale ecosystem science. Integrating these research areas enables the fundamental study of the functional roles of species and provides insights to address applied questions in wildlife ecology, conservation, and management.
Current questions in our research include: 1) How do predators control carrion resources and what are the cascading consequences for biodiversity and associated ecological heterogeneity? 2) Under what circumstances do mammalian herbivores create strong aquatic-terrestrial links? 3) How do ungulates influence the distribution of energy, nutrients, and contaminants? 4) How will warming winters affect large carnivore predator-prey dynamics in snowy areas?