Research
My research asks how organisms adapt and respond to changing environments, so that we can predict how they will respond to future change. I combine theory and fieldwork, using lizards as model organisms. Each of my projects addresses one of three central research questions through a particular study system and set of methods.
How do organisms cope with and adapt to their thermal environments?
Ectotherms rely on the environment for their body heat, so temperature shapes how they behave, reproduce and where they can live. I use biophysical models and comparisons across many lizard species to understand how behavior and life-history strategies such as live birth let organisms persist in challenging thermal environments.
How do individual responses to temperature scale up to populations?
Populations respond to change through what happens to the individuals in them. By following marked lizards in the wild and mapping the temperatures they experience, I link individual energy budgets to survival, natural selection and population-level responses.
Can organisms evolve fast enough to keep up with changing climates?
Whether organisms can adapt to warming depends on the evolutionary constraints and options available to them. I build theoretical models to ask how genetic correlations among thermal traits and thermal plasticity shape the pace and limits of adaptation.