We study the dynamics of food webs and ecosystems.
Through analysis of interactions among predators, herbivores, plants and decomposers, we resolve the functional role of species within aboveground and belowground food webs and how those roles determine attendant ecosystem functioning. We combine empirical research with mathematical modeling and deal with a variety of ecosystems and study species, ranging from lions in Kenyan savannas, caribou in Newfoundland boreal forests, to insects and their spider predators in New England grasslands.
Lab News
- Postdoc Elizabeth Forbes has accepted a role as Research Director at Hudson Carbon.
- Os and Matteo's work on rewilding bison was featured in The Guardian.
Recent Publications
Hawkinson, V. F., Schmitz, O. J., and K.M. Ferraro. 2025. Understanding contingency in wolf-mediated livestock predation across a mosaic of land uses: An agent-based modelling approach. People and Nature.
Leroux, S.J. and O.J. Schmitz 2025. Integrating network and meta-ecosystem models for developing a zoogeochemical theory. Ecology Letters.
Lienau, J.R., Duguid, M.C., and O.J. Schmitz. 2025. Ground beetle trophic interactions alter available nitrogen in forest soil. Oikos.
Schmitz, O.J. 2025. The deer and the tiger, the forest and the carbon. Global Change Biology.
Sommer, N.R., A.M. Dobson, M.S. Baker, G.C. Trussell, and O.J. Schmitz. 2025. Herbivore population differences rival geographic and biophysical variation in structuring ecosystem function. Global Change Biology.
See all publications.
Leroux, S.J. and O.J. Schmitz 2025. Integrating network and meta-ecosystem models for developing a zoogeochemical theory. Ecology Letters.
Lienau, J.R., Duguid, M.C., and O.J. Schmitz. 2025. Ground beetle trophic interactions alter available nitrogen in forest soil. Oikos.
Schmitz, O.J. 2025. The deer and the tiger, the forest and the carbon. Global Change Biology.
Sommer, N.R., A.M. Dobson, M.S. Baker, G.C. Trussell, and O.J. Schmitz. 2025. Herbivore population differences rival geographic and biophysical variation in structuring ecosystem function. Global Change Biology.
See all publications.
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Contact Us
Schmitz Lab
Yale School of the Environment 370 Prospect Street Greeley Laboratory, Room 119 New Haven, CT 06511 USA Phone: (203) 436-5276 oswald.schmitz [at] yale.edu |
