Urban Ecology & Service Learning
The following three experiences have galvanized my passion for urban ecology & service learning: 1) My involvement in the Faculty Fellows Program in Service Learning & Community Engagement at the University of South Alabama, 2) Becoming a Board Member at the Mobile Botanical Gardens, and 3) Co-teaching an upper level, cross listed (Biology/Political Science) service learning course called Urban Ecology, Policy, & Management. The latter of these three experiences occurred during spring semester of 2022 and has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. The culmination of this course was the hosting of a fundraising event at the Mobile Botanical Gardens (our community partner). The Gopher Tortoise Day event raised nearly $3,000 for gopher tortoise and longleaf pine forest conservation at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. We are currently using the data collected from the students and from our event survey to tell the story of what this experience meant to the students, our community partner, and the broader community.

Conservation of an Ecosystem Engineer

We know that certain species have a greater capacity for influencing the environment and the dynamics of other species. In the southeastern United States, gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are engineers of biodiversity. The refugia that gopher tortoise burrows provide for hundreds of commensal species is well documented. However, it is poorly understood how the activities of this herbivore are influencing associated plant communities. We used exclosure plots and camera traps to answer this and other related questions (click on the video!). Not only am I interested in tortoise ecology at urban and rural  locations, but I've also collaborated with other labs to understand gopher tortoise population genetics and disease prevalence. In Mobile County, Alabama, gopher tortoises are federally listed as threatened. Across the Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, the gopher tortoise is protected only by state laws. Results from our long term survey of gopher tortoise site persistence showed dramatic differences between Mobile and Baldwin County. This survey was started in 1991 by our emeritus colleague Dr. David Nelson.

Coevolution & Biodiversity

In 1862, Charles Darwin published a book on the Fertilisation of Orchids in which he detailed a process of reciprocal selection that drives the evolution of plants and animals. Still today, the inspiration for understanding coevolution and its impacts on biodiversity can be traced back to this single publication. As it turns out, orchids and the critters that pollinate them are a fantastic model for investigating the evolution of biodiversity. I am interested in everything from pollination-associated traits and population dynamics to the strength and redundancy of plant-animal interactions within the community. One of my favorite local models is the orange-fringed orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) and its pollinators. However, I've also pursued similar questions in the realm of vertebrate seed dispersal and have used motion activated cameras to document seasonal patterns of foraging preferences in frugivorous birds.

Invasive Species and Community Ecology

It is well established that human-induced changes to ecosystems have resulted in declines of biodiversity that are unprecedented in the modern era. Evidence continues to mount that one of humanity’s most ecologically destructive influences is the facilitation of exotic species invasions. A recent global meta-analysis found that only 30 invasive mammal species have been responsible for the endangerment or extinction of 738 vertebrate species (an average of 25 species threatened per invasive species). Such invasional meltdowns can be driven by interactions between plants and animals that facilitate native species coextinction and further promote the spread of exotic species. I've explored these processes by quantifying species-level interactions and the comparative functional roles of native and exotic species. For example, the exotic tree Cinnamomum camphora benefits from relationships with native birds that disperse its seeds while closely related native plants (all Lauraceae) are being decimated by the novel Laurel Wilt Disease (a beetle-vectored fungal pathogen). The community ecology and biogeography of native vs exotic plant-animal interactions is a major area of interest for me.