Ecology in dry, burnt, and otherwise altered landscapes
Changing frequency, duration, and severity of drought can restructure aquatic communities, with consequences of applied and basic interest. Many amphibian breeding habitats that once held water year-round now of often dry annually.
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As land use, fires, and drought alter the face of our planet, it's increasingly important to understand how focal species and communities respond to novel, shifting landscapes. Quantitative research on the response of organisms to these factors is a necessary prerequisite to effective conservation and management. To date, I've lead and collaborated on several projects investigating how spotted owls' diet, movement, and population rates respond to logging and fire. I'm currently interested in and pursuing research on amphibians and drought. I'm particularly intrigued by the complex spatial and temporal dimensions of drought's impacts on aquatic ecosystems, many of which are often overlooked and oversimplified. Relevant papers: Hobart et al., 2019, Site occupancy and reproductive dynamics of California spotted owls in a mixed-ownership landscape, Forest Ecology and Management Hobart et al. 2019, Trophic interactions mediate the response of predator populations to habitat change, Biological Conservation Habitat selection by spotted owls after a megafire reflects their adaptation to historical frequent-fire regimes. Jones et al. 2020, Landscape Ecology Hobart et al. 2021, Stable isotopes reveal unexpected relationships between fire history and the diet of Spotted Owls, Ibis |
Natural enemy ecology: Predators and parasites
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Predation is among the most important (and interesting) ecological processes, with consequences for individual fitness, population dynamics, community structure, and disease. Using a variety of data and tools, I dig into the drivers and repercussions of predation. Though they tend to receive less attention than predators, parasites are ubiquitous in natural (and human) systems, as are the diseases they cause. Disease ecology, a relatively young field, has made strides in understanding the factors that affect the transmission of pathogens, particularly within experimental and theoretical frameworks. Yet, key uncertainties about transmission in natural, complex systems remain unanswered. I'm especially interested in shedding light on how abiotic (e.g., drought) and biotic (e.g., community) contexts mediate transmission, parasite occurrence, and disease dynamics. Relevant papers: Hobart et al. 2019, Trophic interactions mediate the response of predator populations to habitat change, Biological Conservation Hobart et al. 2021, Stable isotopes reveal unexpected relationships between fire history and the diet of Spotted Owls, Ibis Hobart et al. In press, It’s a worm-eat-worm world: Consumption of parasite free-living stages protects hosts and benefits predators, Journal of Animal Ecology |
Consequences of interactions for conservation
For spotted owls, diet is closely tied to a suite of habitat factors that themselves are often a function of historical and contemporary land use and fire. Given that owl diet is closely linked to population rates, this provides evidence for trophic interactions mediating owl populations' responses to landscape changes.
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Although the importance of interspecific interactions is well-recognized for the management and conservation of some species, their relevance remains unexplored in many scenarios. In many cases, the success of conservation of a focal species hinges on stabilizing or reintroducing that species' interactions with others in its community. A wholly single-species approach to management thus often fails. I aim to uncover the ways in which novel or changing species interactions mediate conservation outlooks. Relevant papers: Hobart et al. 2019, Trophic interactions mediate the response of predator populations to habitat change, Biological Conservation Density dependence influences competition and hybridization at an invasion front. Wood et al. 2021, Diversity and Distributions |
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