Biodiversity Synthesis

The overarching research mission of the Biodiversity Synthesis research group is aimed towards developing a cohesive framework for understanding the patterns of biodiversity and its heterogeneous distribution across multiple scales, as well as the underlying ecological drivers that influence those patterns.

We are motivated by the common belief that there are fundamental principles of biodiversity science, but that in order to uncover them, a more pluralistic perspective must be taken, examining pattern and process across taxonomic groupings (e.g., plants, animals), ecosystem types (e.g., aquatic, terrestrial), and across levels of organization (e.g., taxonomic, functional).

To achieve this, we are developing overarching conceptual and theoretical principles, as well as new analytical tools which we then use for the analysis and meta-analysis of biodiversity data and its response to various natural and anthropogenic drivers.