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 pumas and vicuñas in Argentinian grasslands, lions in Kenyan savannas, to insects and their spider predators in aboveground and belowground food webs in Connecticut grasslands.
Lab News
- Check out Os' Yale e360 article on how drilling in ANWR could release an extra dose of methane by altering caribou movements.
- Check out the paper co-authored by Doctoral student Nat Sommer and former Doctoral student Rob Buchkowski who mentored high school students Stefanie Guiliano and Cerina Karr to publish results of their field research as lead authors Peer J 8:e9184.
Recent Publications
Sommer, N.R. and K.M. Ferraro. 2022. An ethical framework for behavioural training in wildlife management. Conservation Science and Practice.
Ferraro, K.M., O.J. Schmitz, and M.A. McCary. 2022. Effects of ungulate density and sociality on landscape heterogeneity: a mechanistic modeling approach. Ecography.
Monk, Julia D. and Oswald J. Schmitz. 2022. Landscapes shaped from the top down: predicting cascading predator effects on spatial biogeochemistry. Oikos.
Zhou, W., K. Orrick, A. Lim, and M. Dove. 2021. Reframing conservation and development perspectives on bushmeat. Environmental Research Letters.
Ferraro, K.M., A.L. Ferraro, and N.R. Sommer. 2021. Challenges facing cross-disciplinary collaboration in conservation ethics. Conservation Science and Practice 3(11): e523.
Ellis-Soto D., K.M. Ferraro, M. Rizzuto, E. Briggs, J.D. Monk and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. A methodological roadmap to quantify animal-vectored spatial ecosystem subsidies. Journal of Animal Ecology.
McCary, M.A. and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. Invertebrate functional traits and terrestrial nutrient cycling: insights from a global meta-analysis. Journal of Animal Ecology online early.
See all publications.
Ferraro, K.M., O.J. Schmitz, and M.A. McCary. 2022. Effects of ungulate density and sociality on landscape heterogeneity: a mechanistic modeling approach. Ecography.
Monk, Julia D. and Oswald J. Schmitz. 2022. Landscapes shaped from the top down: predicting cascading predator effects on spatial biogeochemistry. Oikos.
Zhou, W., K. Orrick, A. Lim, and M. Dove. 2021. Reframing conservation and development perspectives on bushmeat. Environmental Research Letters.
Ferraro, K.M., A.L. Ferraro, and N.R. Sommer. 2021. Challenges facing cross-disciplinary collaboration in conservation ethics. Conservation Science and Practice 3(11): e523.
Ellis-Soto D., K.M. Ferraro, M. Rizzuto, E. Briggs, J.D. Monk and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. A methodological roadmap to quantify animal-vectored spatial ecosystem subsidies. Journal of Animal Ecology.
McCary, M.A. and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. Invertebrate functional traits and terrestrial nutrient cycling: insights from a global meta-analysis. Journal of Animal Ecology online early.
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 |
