My group studies linkages between mobile top predators (birds) and aquatic food webs, to guide conservation of important habitats in a changing environment.
Components of this work include
- Laboratory, field, and modeling studies of the energy costs of aquatic birds, and of their intake rates of prey of different species, sizes, and densities
- Use of gut contents, stable isotopes, and fatty acid biomarkers to identify the diets of waterbirds, and the diets of different species in their food webs (invertebrates and fish)
- Spatial simulation models of the foraging energetics of waterbirds, to characterize and delineate areas of habitat capable of supporting these predators
- Network models of food webs to explore how climate-driven changes in temperature, organic inputs, and invasive species might alter the ability of certain habitat areas to sustain the top predators in the long term
Descriptions of overall research projects, roles of students and collaborators, and resulting publications can be found via links at the top of this page.