museums matter
Recent advances in modeling and molecular analyses have dramatically improved the power and accessibility of collections-based explorations of ecology and evolution in non-model organisms. These and other powerful tools provide me with new ways to address questions regarding general biodiversity, inter-species relationships, species delineation questions, and infra-species population demographics, thereby expanding the traditional bounds within which a taxonomist operates.
I seek to generate and share the natural history knowledge necessary to truly understand the world we live in. Through partnerships with researchers in disparate fields and the improvement of my own skillset, natural history data may be used to improve present estimates and future projections of demographic characteristics, distributional limitations, ecological relationships, and evolutionary processes.
We must expand our knowledge of how these factors interact with each other and different ecosystems in order to understand and safeguard against the ongoing threats posed by climate change and human activity. It is only by synthesizing all available data across disciplines that we can meaningfully address and solve these most pressing challenges, and that is my goal as an integrative taxonomist.
I seek to generate and share the natural history knowledge necessary to truly understand the world we live in. Through partnerships with researchers in disparate fields and the improvement of my own skillset, natural history data may be used to improve present estimates and future projections of demographic characteristics, distributional limitations, ecological relationships, and evolutionary processes.
We must expand our knowledge of how these factors interact with each other and different ecosystems in order to understand and safeguard against the ongoing threats posed by climate change and human activity. It is only by synthesizing all available data across disciplines that we can meaningfully address and solve these most pressing challenges, and that is my goal as an integrative taxonomist.