General Research Interests

My lab focuses on the functional ecology and biomechanics of adhesion, locomotion, and predator-prey interactions. We are highly integrative and combine ecology, modeling, biomechanics, comparative evolutionary methods, and genomics. This naturally combines organismal approaches with sophisticated laboratory and field techniques (see below). An overarching theme of our research is the impact of global change on the distribution and function of organisms, including how rising temperatures impact contemporary patterns, but also historical patterns (e.g., maximum sea surface temperature in the mid-Cretaceous). We are also exploring how urban environments can shape both morphology and function, and what attributes might facilitate urban and natural invasions. We utilize museum collections across the world, including those at the Museum Koenig (Bonn, Germany), the LA County Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, and others. Our fieldwork is conducted in a number of places, including the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in British Columbia, Gobabeb Research & Training Centre in Namibia, Nouragues in French Guiana, and various places in the USA and Canada

Experimental and Field Techniques