Animals-Ecosystem InteractionsIdentifying and investigating how animals interact with, and contribute to, the ecosystem they inhabit
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Identifying Animal-Vectorized Subsidies
Animals are always on the move, and through what they eat, where they die, and where they urinate, defecate, and give birth, they move nutrients. It was not until recently that the role of larger animals in nutrient cycles, such as our planet’s carbon and nitrogen cycles, has been recognized as significant. This is especially relevant under climate change, as rewilding certain areas with animals could be a nature-based solution to offset carbon emissions.
However, understanding where, when, and how much animals distribute nutrients across ecosystems is challenging, as it relies on methods and concepts from a variety of scientific disciplines (Ellis-Soto, Ferraro et al., 2021). My work seeks to address this information gap, helping ecologists better understand the important role animals play in biogeochemical processes (Barbero-Palacios et al., 2023; Ferraro et al., 2023) .
However, understanding where, when, and how much animals distribute nutrients across ecosystems is challenging, as it relies on methods and concepts from a variety of scientific disciplines (Ellis-Soto, Ferraro et al., 2021). My work seeks to address this information gap, helping ecologists better understand the important role animals play in biogeochemical processes (Barbero-Palacios et al., 2023; Ferraro et al., 2023) .
Modeling the Zoogeochemical Effects of Ungulates
Animals alter nutrient distributions across ecosystems, yet analyzing these effects at a landscape scale is logistically challenging. To address this, I use individual-based models to examine how ungulates impact nutrient distribution at the landscape scale. I began by exploring the theory, using caribou as a test-case to explore how animal density, sociality, and initial landscape conditions shaped zoogeochemical effects (Ferraro et al., 2022).
Now, I seek to use animal movement data to explore how the great migration of Yellowstone distribute nutrients across the American West. Stay tuned for the results of this work!
Now, I seek to use animal movement data to explore how the great migration of Yellowstone distribute nutrients across the American West. Stay tuned for the results of this work!
Predator as Drivers of Prey Behavior
Predator-prey interactions are a fundamental part of community and ecosystem ecology, shaping the way animals move and interact with the environment they inhabit. Using agent-based models, I work closely with collaborators to simulate predator-prey interactions and how such dynamics cause prey individuals to shift in time and space (Orrick et al., in revision; Gadsden et al., in review).