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
- Gabriele Retez is visting in the lab this semester! You can read more about him here.
- 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.
- Congratulations to doctoral student Kristy Ferraro on winning a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship and the YSE Bormann Prize.
- Former doctoral student Rob Buchkowski has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at University of Western Ontario (aka Western University).
- Former doctoral student Julia Monk has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at New York University.
Recent Publications
Lienau, J. R., and O. J. Schmitz. 2024. Functional traits of predators and decomposer prey determine context dependency in trophic control over ecosystems. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Orrick, K. D.,* K. M. Ferraro,* and N. R. Sommer. 2024. Individuals in focus: Individuals as the ecological and ethical center of human-wildlife conflict. Biological Conservation
Feldmeier, D. E., O. J. Schmitz, N. H. Carter, G. S. Masunga, and K. D. Orrick. 2024. Predictions & perceptions: A social-ecological analysis of human-carnivore conflict in Botswana. Biological Conservation.
Rizzuto, M., Leroux, S. J., & Schmitz, O. J. (2024). Rewiring the carbon cycle: A theoretical framework for animal-driven ecosystem carbon sequestration. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
Orrick, K., N. Sommer, F. Rowland, and K. Ferraro. 2024. Predator–prey interactions across hunting mode, spatial domain size, and habitat complexities. Ecology
Rizzuto, M., Leroux, S.J., Schmitz, O.J., Vander Wal, E., Wiersma, Y.F., Heckford, T.R. Animal-vectored nutrient flows across resource gradients influence the nature of local and meta-ecosystem functioning. Ecological Modelling.
Anderson, C., Zuckerwise, A., Wallace, R. B., Ayala, G., Viscarra, M., & Schmitz, O. J. 2024. Small Felids Coexist in Mixed-Use Landscape in the Bolivian Amazon. Animals.
Burak, M.K.*, K.M. Ferraro* K.D. Orrick*, N.R. Sommer, D. Ellis-Soto, and O.J. Schmitz. 2024. Context matters when rewilding for climate change. People and Nature.
See all publications.
Orrick, K. D.,* K. M. Ferraro,* and N. R. Sommer. 2024. Individuals in focus: Individuals as the ecological and ethical center of human-wildlife conflict. Biological Conservation
Feldmeier, D. E., O. J. Schmitz, N. H. Carter, G. S. Masunga, and K. D. Orrick. 2024. Predictions & perceptions: A social-ecological analysis of human-carnivore conflict in Botswana. Biological Conservation.
Rizzuto, M., Leroux, S. J., & Schmitz, O. J. (2024). Rewiring the carbon cycle: A theoretical framework for animal-driven ecosystem carbon sequestration. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
Orrick, K., N. Sommer, F. Rowland, and K. Ferraro. 2024. Predator–prey interactions across hunting mode, spatial domain size, and habitat complexities. Ecology
Rizzuto, M., Leroux, S.J., Schmitz, O.J., Vander Wal, E., Wiersma, Y.F., Heckford, T.R. Animal-vectored nutrient flows across resource gradients influence the nature of local and meta-ecosystem functioning. Ecological Modelling.
Anderson, C., Zuckerwise, A., Wallace, R. B., Ayala, G., Viscarra, M., & Schmitz, O. J. 2024. Small Felids Coexist in Mixed-Use Landscape in the Bolivian Amazon. Animals.
Burak, M.K.*, K.M. Ferraro* K.D. Orrick*, N.R. Sommer, D. Ellis-Soto, and O.J. Schmitz. 2024. Context matters when rewilding for climate change. People and Nature.
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 |
