The Anderson Lab 

Overview

 

Another branch of our research concerns factors affecting the biogeography of insular populations and communities.

 

Although important differences exist, empirical research on both real islands and habitat islands is relevant to management of landscapes fragmented by human activities. 

 

Here, we combine theoretical research (e.g., development of the Constraint-based model of Dynamic Island Biogeography; see Publications) and empirical studies in the Westen United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

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Our current projects in this area include:

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•    Predicting species composition and extinction risks across dynamic sky-island communities in the Great Basin (Andrew Gaier)

•    The effects of hysteresis and species traits on the mammalian fauna of an isolated Venezuelan cloud forest (Robert Anderson).

•    Predictive mapping of vegetation using ecological niche models and support vector machines (Erica Johnson).

•    Investigating the roles of species traits and environmental change in shaping genetic diversity of populations of small mammal in Mexican sky islands (Gonzalo Pinilla).

•    A conservation assessment for the range-restricted rodent Handleyomys chapmani (Bethany Johnson).