Conservation ecologist, nursery owner, and PhD student
University of Arizona, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Enquist Macroecology Lab
IUCN Species Survival Commission Cactus and Succulent Plants Specialist Group
Prickly Prospects Cactus Nursery
I am focused on the application of ecological modeling to the conservation of cacti.
You can find my C.V. here.
In 2017, I started working with Dr. Brian Enquist at the University of Arizona on range modeling of cacti under climate change. While many associate cacti with deserts, this family of plants ranges from Canada to the southernmost reaches of South America. Given their drought resistance, the public tends to think of cacti as very resilient, but it is in fact one of the most threatened plant groups on earth. We use tens of thousands of geographic observations from the BIEN network to model the potential future impacts of climate change on hundreds of species of cactus. Results indicate that more than half of all cactus species may undergo range contractions in this century.
Publication:
From 2016 to 2018, I worked with Dr. Margaret Evans at the University of Arizona on demographic range modeling of pinyon pine. Pinyon pine is an important tree species of the pinyon-juniper woodlands of the American Southwest that has been undergoing mass mortality events due to elevated temperatures, prolonged droughts, and bark beetle outbreaks. Many of the threats faced by pinyon pine are expected to become more severe with ongoing climate change.
Understanding the future of species under climate change requires a thorough understanding of species' niches, and thus their demographic responses to the environment. Using a type of size-structured demographic modeling technique, Integral Projection Modeling, spatially-explicit maps of predicted population growth rate across pinyon pine's range were produced. Climate alone is insufficient to explain the distribution of pinyon pine, complicating predictions of its future.
Publication:
From 2015 to 2016 I worked with Dr. Ben Poulter at Montana State University on tropical forest ecology. A first project focused on the role of competition in driving mortality of tropical trees. We found strong evidence for self-thinning at the scale of entire forest stands, within stands, and individual trees. Classification accuracy of individual tree mortality models was strongly improved by including local tree density as a predictor. A second project showed the potential improvements of predicting forest carbon stocks and dynamics by integrating remotely-sensed data, ground inventory data and the dynamic global vegetation model ORCHIDEE.
Publications:
In 2014, I worked with Dr. Andy Hansen at Montana State University on the future of whitebark pine. While multiple stressors, including climate change, pine bark beetle, and blister rust, are simultaneously threatening the future of this subalpine tree species of the Rocky Mountains, we propose several scenarios under which whitebark pine may persist on the landscape.
Publication:
I am passionate about the conservation of cacti and other succulents. In the next few years, I hope to assemble a nearly complete collection of all known cactus species, in order to conserve these plants ex situ. For more information on my efforts, check out my nursery website: Prickly Prospects Cactus Nursery.