My interests revolve around understanding quantitative relationships between organismal traits and ecological dynamics at larger spatial, temporal and organizational scales. Many of my projects involve spatial ecology and movement, from the perspectives of trophic interactions, behavior, biomechanics, using a combination of laboratory observations, field instrumentation and analytical and mathematical modeling.

Broadly, I am a community ecologist who uses ecological theory and statistical modeling to link observed community patterns to underlying processes. More specifically, I am interested in the assembly and services of host-associated microbial communities, such as those in mammalian guts and on the roots and leaves of plants. Conceptually, my current research falls into three general areas: (A) patterns and processes of host-associated microbial succession; (B) host-microbiome feedbacks and alternative stable states, especially those triggered by pathogens to enable their rapid expansion; and (C) microbial community resistance and resilience to disturbance and immigration.

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University, co-advised by Ashley Shade, Elena Litchman, and (unofficially) Chris Klausmeier. I work on various projects related to the microbial ecology of the human gut. I also spend time working on projects related to microbial resistance to disease, and general community ecology theory. I did my dissertation at University of Michigan in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, which focused on trying understand and predict how grasslands will respond to climate change. Before that, I spent several years traveling and working public service jobs in Namibia, Ecuador, and Colombia. I did my undergraduate at Grinnell College.

I study developmental plasticity and immunity trade-offs in amphibians.

As a conservation physiologist, I’m interested in understanding how organisms cope with change.

Quantitative Ecology
Effects of environmental changes on wildlife - In fact, my Ph.D. research was on the effects of climatic, hydrological, and land-use changes on waterbirds
Wildlife population models

I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. My undergraduate degree is Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore Pakistan. LaterI did M. Phil. in Wildlife and Ecology from the same university. In Dec, 2018, I completed PhD from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.In 2016, I completed an Erasmus+ mobility at University of Granada, Spain. I have worked with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)at the Regional Office of the Asia and Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) , AIT Solutions (A research and business center of AIT), and as a visiting lecturer at the Mahidol University International College (MUIC), Thailand. My research interests are wildlife ecology, statistical modelling, wildlife behavior, forestry, and wildlife crimes. I am trained in wildlife modeling techniques using R statistical software.

Cheryl Hayashi is a Hawaii-born biologist who is curator, professor, and Director of Comparative Biology Research at the American Museum of Natural History. She specializes in the genetic structure of spider silk. A Yale alumnus, she was previously a professor at University California Riverside, and was a 2007 MacArthur Fellow.

A central focus of my research is to connect individual-level processes to population-level outcomes. These cross-scale interactions are key to understanding things like eco-evolutionary dynamics, shifts in demography, population stability, and disease outbreaks. Moreover, connecting multiple scales of biological organization is proving increasingly crucial for addressing public health challenges such as the development of “evolution-proof” strategies to slow the evolution of virulence and antibiotic resistance.

My research program emphasizes the use of multi-disciplinary and quantitative approaches to science. My research lies at the interface of three traditionally separate bodies of research: consumer-resource ecology, physiology, and evolutionary epidemiology. I work within several focal systems and have developed collaborations with mathematicians, physiologists, ecologists, and conservation managers. Working across disciplines helps me think ‘outside the box’ and develop a unique skillset in meditating across multi-disciplinary teams.

My aim is that by bringing a theory-guided approach and an ecological lens to these important questions, the Hite lab will become a leader in translational research. To test (and advance) theory, my research program uses a variety of lab-based and natural systems as case-studies including freshwater zooplankton and fruit flies and both bacterial and fungal pathogens.

I am a quantitative eco-evolutionary biologist. My research lies at the interface of physiology, ecology, and evolutionary epidemiology. Broadly, I study how ecological variation shapes the interaction between individual life histories and the dynamics of populations and communities.

My approach integrates empirical and observational data with innovative statistical approaches (e.g., machine learning) and mathematical modeling. I use theory from population ecology and evolutionary epidemiology as a guide to develop and test general, yet mechanistic models that advance multiple fields.

For the past 10 years, my main focus has been on metamorphosis in the ocean, a process that has evolved numerous times in animals and non-animals. Across kingdoms, planktonic propagules face similar challenges: surviving (and in some cases growing) util they reach a "competent" stage to transform into juveniles, identification of suitable juvenile habitat when they arrive there, deciding whether to settle therein or wait for a potentially higher quality settlement habitat, and accomplishing the transformation itself. I use the word "challenges" here purposefully, as these early life stages need to function effectively as larvae and then make instantaneous decisions to abandon that life stage, undergoing what can be profound physiological and morphological changes into a benthic juvenile stage. A detailed understanding of this common yet diverse life cycle transformation that occurs at metamorphosis in marine organisms is not merely an intriguing cross-disciplinary problem, it represents a major knowledge gap that limits our understanding of and ability to predict trends in marine populations. In the face of profound anthropogenic ocean change, increasing our knowledge of these issues will be a key piece in our efforts to protect threatened marine ecosystems.

I am broadly interested in the nexus of ecology, development and evolution. Specifically. I am fascinated by how organisms assess their internal and external environments to make informed, consequential life history decisions. To me, the ultimate example of this phenomenon is metamorphosis, a process that has evolved numerous times in both animals and non-animals. I have studied the internal mechanics of metamorphosis –where developmental changes underlie both subtle and profound evolutionary change– and how marine larvae evaluate their external environment in order to increase their very long odds of recruitment into adult populations. I am committed to addressing climate change, which I have done largely through educational outreach.

I am interested in using spatial and genetic data to answer biogeographic questions.

Undergraduate student studying Ecology & Conservation Biology and Entomology at Texas A&M University.