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
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.
Wirsing, A.J., M.R. Heithaus, J.S. Brown, B.P. Kotler and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. The context dependence of non-consumptive predator effects. Ecology Letters 24: 113-129.
Schmitz, O.J. and S.J. Leroux. 2020. Food webs and ecosystems: Linking species interactions to the carbon cycle. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 51:271-295.
Sommer, N. and O.J. Schmitz. 2020. Differences in prey personality mediate trophic cascades. Ecology and Evolution 10:9538-9551.
See all publications.
Wirsing, A.J., M.R. Heithaus, J.S. Brown, B.P. Kotler and O.J. Schmitz. 2021. The context dependence of non-consumptive predator effects. Ecology Letters 24: 113-129.
Schmitz, O.J. and S.J. Leroux. 2020. Food webs and ecosystems: Linking species interactions to the carbon cycle. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 51:271-295.
Sommer, N. and O.J. Schmitz. 2020. Differences in prey personality mediate trophic cascades. Ecology and Evolution 10:9538-9551.
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 |
