Synchronization and stability of river metapopulation network​

 

Justin is interested in the physical and biological constraints that shape trophic interactions, and how changes in these interactions impact community dynamics over long time-scales. His work has focused on quantifying how global changes in climate have altered patterns of interactions in both modern and Pleistocene mammalian ecosystems, and has shown that animal extinctions during the past 6000 years have largely reshaped the structure and functioning of mammalian communities. At Simon Fraser University, he investigated how and to what extent the spatial constraints of rivers impact metapopulations, amplifying or diminishing the variability and synchrony of fluctuating populations over time. He has shown that the structure of river networks is expected to have large impacts on the dynamics of aquatic metapopulations, such that rivers with more complex branching structures are expected to have more stable metapopulations that are less likely to become synchronized. These combined effects are expected to increase the persistence of aquatic metapopulations.

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Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of California, USA

 

Website: http://jdyeakel.wordpress.com