My research focuses on understanding the limits and successes of statistical theories of biodiversity, such as the maximum entropy theory of ecology or the unified neutral theory of biodiversity. My ultimate goal is to use theory--and systematic deviations from it--to help understand and find solutions to our current biodiversity crisis. Toward that end, I find it particularly relevant to study diversity through time and across space, incorporating macroecology and macroevolution in community and ecosystem level research. For this, I'm eagerly analyzing paleobiological data to understand past fluctuations in biodiversity, and Hawaiian arthropod communities through space and across gradients of substrate age to understand the evolutionary context of community assembly.
