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Brad Duthie
Ph.D. Student
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
353D Bessey Hall
Ames, IA 50011
Ph.D. Student
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
353D Bessey Hall
Ames, IA 50011
Research Interests
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My doctoral research thus far has revolved around using methods in graph theory to resolve species interactions in ecological communities. Following techniques laid out by Drton & Perlman (2008; 2004), I have been using abundance data in the fig/fig-wasp system surrounding F. petiolaris to examine partial correlations between species and the resources they use. I believe that this line of inquiry will open the door to new techniques for resolving species interactions, especially in situations where exclusion tests are time consuming or unrealistically labor intensive. The system that I work with on this project includes one species of pollinator, six species of exploiter wasps, and one parasitoid. My research also focuses on different edge selection procedures used in graphical models. Such procedures include both simultaneous and iterative approaches to determining the significance of partial correlations between variables. Finally, I am interested in the spatiotemporal dynamics of species interactions and coevolution. In recent decades, it has become ever more clear that a complete model of coevolutionary biology must include an understanding of the dynamic geographic mosaic that influences the coevolutionary process between species (Thompson 2005; 1994). In most studies, these dynamics focus on two or three species. In contrast, food webs may include several interacting species, but say little about spatiotemporal dynamics. With my research, I hope to begin bridging these areas to understand better how communities vary in space and time. Literature Cited: Drton, M., and M. D. Perlman. “A SINful Approach to Gaussian Graphical Model Selection.” J. Statist. Plann. Inference 138 (2008) 1179-1200. Drton, M., and M. D. Perlman. “Model Selection for Gaussian Concentration Graphs.” J. Statist. Plann. Inference 91 (2004) 591-602.
Thompson, J. N. The Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution. Chicago: The University of Chicago P, 2005. Thompson, J.N. The Coevolutionary Process. Chicago: The University of Chicago P, 1994. |
Teaching
You can link to my teaching page here
Fall 09 classes begin Monday, August 24
