What is the functional composition of a landscape in Borneo, or of one in central England? Knowing the answer is critical for mapping ecosystem functioning (for example, carbon fluxes), for conservation work (for example, understanding where landscapes have more functions and may be more resilient), Traditionally, answering this question could be done based on one…

We just had a new study come out on predicting leaf traits from reflectance spectroscopy. The study was led by Chris Doughty and Paul Efren Santos Andrade as part of the broader CHAMBASA elevation gradient project in Peru. In many ecological applications, measuring leaf traits is very useful (e.g. photosynthetic rates, which help predict plant…

Last week we had a review paper come out surveying uses of hypervolume concepts across ecology and evolutionary biology. You can read it at Ecography, or get a PDF copy. The manuscript explores how the n-dimensional hypervolume concept has been used since it was first proposed by G.E. Hutchinson (his fabulous illustration of squirrel niches…

This week Science is featuring a student-led piece on inclusion and diversity in STEM fields. I was able to help facilitate this piece, and am very proud to see the voices and opinions that come through in its writing. The piece focuses on the need to acknowledge the unique experiences and needs of under-represented minority…