Post Doctoral Fellow

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Biology, the U of Central Florida

University of Tennessee Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

Daniel Simberloff

I am an ecologist interested in the study of biological invasions. Invasions provide us the possibilities of testing many ecological and evolutionary theories and they give us the possibility of applying ecological knowledge to the management of these serious threats to ecosystems and biodiversity. These theoretical and applied challenges are what fascinate me about the study of invasions.

Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity, contributing to worldwide endangerment and extinction of species. Therefore, to conserve biodiversity and manage exotic species effectively, it is crucial to determine the factors and mechanisms that regulate invasion. Without such understanding, managing exotic species will be intractable, leaving managers without a decisive tool to focus their efforts to prevent entry and expansion of introduced species. Also, invasive species provide large scale experiments that can be key to understand natural systems. The process of colonization by exotics may not differ radically from the process of colonization or recolonization by native species of a new area, a very frequent and important factor determining things such as biodiversity

2003-2008 PhD student