Photo by Megan Tait
Interacting effects of multiple disturbances on population dynamics
Altered disturbance regimes are one of many consequences of global change. Expanding human populations alter disturbance regimes by suppressing fires, stabilizing dunes, and decreasing flooding. Simultaneously, climate change is forecast to increase the frequency of intense hurricanes and other extreme weather events. As these global changes accelerate, it is more likely that disturbance events simultaneously shift in their intensity and frequency, increasing the probability of interactions between multiple disturbances. Although the study of interacting disturbances has increased in recent years; we know almost nothing about how interacting disturbances affect demography. My research aims to understand how changing frequencies of and interactions between disturbance events are affecting population dynamics of endangered species, specifically, how disturbances affect individual vital rates and how those combine to affect population growth rates.