Research

Through long-term monitoring of avian and mammalian communities across disturbed and regenerating forests, I investigate how changes in habitat structure and environmental conditions influence species composition, functional diversity, community structure, and ecological interactions. Using mist-netting, camera trapping, and field-based observational surveys, I assess how species’ morphological and ecological traits influence their responses to habitat loss, fragmentation, and restoration, as well as their roles as seed dispersers, predators, and other key contributors to ecosystem processes. By linking biodiversity patterns and functional traits with species interactions and ecosystem processes, my work evaluates how restoration influences not only which species return, but also how ecological communities function and recover. This integrated approach provides insight into the mechanisms that promote ecosystem resilience and informs evidence-based restoration and conservation strategies in one of the world’s most threatened tropical forests.

One aspect of my research focuses on how ecological communities and biodiversity reassemble following disturbance, with a focus on the Chocó Rainforest, a global biodiversity hotspot along the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Despite its extraordinary biodiversity, the region is critically threatened by deforestation, with less than 2% of intact forest remaining as a result of agricultural expansion and cattle pasture. In collaboration with the Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT), a community-led organization restoring degraded forests, my research investigates how animal-mediated seed dispersal contributes to the reassembly of plant communities during forest recovery. FCAT’s innovative restoration strategy uses planted seed islands composed of fast-growing, fruiting plant species that attract frugivorous animals and facilitate the movement of seeds into and beyond restoration sites. As a postdoctoral fellow at MSU, I study how different seed-dispersing animal species contribute to these processes and identify which species play disproportionately important roles in accelerating forest regeneration. By linking animal behavior and movement to patterns of plant recruitment and community assembly, this work helps reveal the mechanisms through which biodiversity reassembles after disturbance. Ultimately, my research seeks to understand how interactions among species can drive the recovery of diverse, functioning ecosystems and inform more effective strategies for restoring tropical forests.