Andrew Van Eck
Research
Since early childhood I have been fascinated with nature and with the amazing creatures within her realm. As this interest developed, I found myself increasingly captivated with the interface between humanity and the environment, specifically with the consequences of human disturbance on wildlife. Ultimately, the alluring subject of biology escorted me into a dissertation focused upon the effects of anthropogenic fragmentation on small mammals.
The amazing capabilities quickly developed by humanity have resulted in awesome transformations of the landscape on a global scale. These environmental manipulations of human origin have negatively impacted a large number of species due to a multitude of mechanisms. Countless studies have assessed the impacts of human caused disturbance on a diverse array of species, yet the results remain idiosyncratic. Although several papers have yielded observational judgments regarding common traits possessed by threatened species, none have quantitatively defined the characteristics that may predispose a species to decline in the face of human encroachment. Effective conservation demands predictive science, yet we currently lack a framework that would allow managers to forecast the impacts of fragmentation across species.
The current focus of my research entails two principal elements, each of which aim to create a predictive framework. To establish general trends from previous work, I am conducting a thorough meta-analysis in order to correlate specific life and natural history traits with species decline due to fragmentation. Preliminary results confirm formerly observational annotations that specialist mammals are more likely to decline than generalists.
To investigate the accuracy and predictability of the results from the meta-analysis, I am experimentally testing the reaction of small mammals to anthropogenic fragmentation. Experiments are underway in Lebanon, and future study sites will include the picturesque forests of Washington state.
Contact information
drewdogy@u.washington.edu (email)
