Research
Current Projects
Overview of Ph.D. Research
My research is funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP; awarded in 2021) and aims to understand patterns of plant biodiversity with a focus on the Neotropical region.
I seek to answer the following questions:
Can plant trait data improve our ability to estimate extinction risk for data-deficient plants?
How do relationship(s) between plant and frugivore traits and diversity measures (taxonomic and functional diversity) in the Neotropics vary with spatial scale?
What are future patterns of neotropical plant diversity forecasted to look like under climate change scenarios?
Plant Traits & Extinction Risk
I will be using existing plant trait databases (like BIEN, TRY, and others) to compile relevant trait data for plant species in Central and South America, with a particular focus on species classified as data deficient on the IUCN RedList.
Plant and Frugivore Diversity
I will be calculating the taxonomic and functional diversity of plants and frugivores in the Neotropics at various spatial grains and latitudes.
Climate Change & Future Plant Biodiversity
I will be looking at if project plant and frugivore species ranges will match in the future for any of the forecasted representative concentration pathways (RCPs).