Ecological Interactions Lab

The main interst of our lab is the ecology of interspecific interactions. We seek to understand the ecological causes and consequences of biotic interactions and how they respond to human-caused environmental changes. Our research is motivated by questions that lead us to combine a variety of approaches, including field observational studies, manipulative experiments, computer simulations, meta-analyses of data from the literature, mathematical models, and conceptual work with pen and paper. We work mainly with plants and insects (bees and other pollinators, ants), but we are open to studying other kinds of organisms if the question requires it. Our current interests include the structure and dynamics of ecological networks, the functioning and conservation of plant-animal mutualisms, the ecology of biological invasions, and more!

As an example of the type of research that we are conducting, we are conducting a project funded by FONCYT to study the spatial and temporal dynamics of bee populations and plant-bee-parasite networks throughout 2000 km in Argentina’s Monte desert. In this project we use a standardized, replicated experimental design based on trap nests for solitary bees to revisit several ideas concerning the geographic and temporal variation of populations and communities.