Community assembly and restoration over time
The spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological communities on this planet are both fascinating and complex, as ecologists strive to uncover the mechanisms driving these dynamics. Our lab is interested in explaining the dynamics of community assembly and the relative importance of various ecological processes in structuring natural communities. We explore these questions using a variety of approaches, including experimental grasslands, bacterial microcosms, long-term observational studies, and data synthesis. A common theme in most of our work is a focus on how ecological differences (e.g., phylogenetic and functional differences), as well as colonization and extinction processes, mediate community dynamics in response to biological invasions and eutrophication.
Selected papers:
Science Advances | Ecology Letters | Ecology Letters | Ecology Letters | Journal of Ecology | Journal of Plant Ecology
Darwin’s naturalization conundrum
In On The Origin of Species, Darwin proposed two contradictory hypotheses predicting that exotic species either phylogenetically closely or distantly related to native communities are more likely to succeed. This paradox, now known as Darwin’s naturalization conundrum, has garnered increasing attention over the past three decades. Our research investigates this conundrum across various taxa, spatial scales, and invasion stages. Beyond phylogenetic relatedness, we incorporate multidimensional ecological dissimilarities, including trait, niche, and relative fitness differences. We also emphasize the importance of environmental gradients, human activities, and native community characteristics and dynamics in resolving this 160-year-old conundrum.
Selected papers:
Nature communications | Nature communications | 生命科学 | Global Change Biology | Ecology | ISME | Ecology Letters | Journal of Applied Ecology | Annual Review of Plant Biology | Proc. R. Soc.B.
Island biogeography of microbes
Islands are global biodiversity hotspots but face increasing threats from environmental change and human activity. As key players in freshwater ecosystems, bacterioplankton drive nutrient cycling and energy flow, yet their biogeographical patterns on islands remain poorly understood. Here, we will investigate freshwater bacterioplankton diversity across the Zhoushan Archipelago, China’s largest island group. Notably, freshwater bodies on islands represent a unique “islands-within-islands” system, where each water body represents a local patch within a clearly bounded island landscape. This system offers an ideal model for exploring the relative contributions of local (e.g., water physicochemical properties, water body size) and regional (e.g., spatial distance, island area, isolation, human disturbance) factors in shaping microbial diversity patterns. Our goal is to elucidate the mechanisms driving the island biogeography of freshwater bacterioplankton communities.
Selected papers:
