Research Interests:
In my research I strive to integrate theory and empiricism to understanding how spatial heterogeneity (i.e., environmental heterogeneity and landscape structure) and movement behaviors (e.g., passive dispersal, habitat selection, breeding site selection) interact to determine spatial population and disease dynamics in an applied context. A large body of theoretical literature demonstrates that the movement of organisms across heterogeneous landscapes can be crucial in determining population, community, and disease dynamics. However, most empirical studies that measure movement in natural systems rarely measure the consequences of that movement for the ecological dynamics or test the relative importance of movement, environmental heterogeneity, and landscape structure in determining spatial dynamics. Testing these ideas has important consequences not only for improving our basic understanding of ecological dynamics, but also for our ability to conserve ecological resources and improve public health. I believe that to fully understand when movement is important in determining ecological dynamics and when it can be reasonably ignored, we must: (1) conduct empirical studies at the landscape scale to measure movement and (2) test the relative importance of movement, environmental heterogeneity and landscape structure in determining ecological dynamics. In my research I use field and laboratory studies together with spatiotemporal models based on empirical data and realistic landscapes to investigate these issues.
In previous work, I have examined the effects of spatial heterogeneity and movement in determining the population dynamics of tree hole mosquitoes and the dynamics of an emerging plant disease called sudden oak death. Currently in Dr. Thomas Scott’s lab at UC-Davis, I am helping to develop and test a population-dynamic simulation model that predicts how fluctuations in mosquito populations influence the dynamics of the mosquito-borne disease dengue. Once released, the model will be used by national, regional, and local personnel to select the vector control interventions that will control dengue transmission in their particular locations. The project will also include field work in Peru to examine the basic ecology of the dengue vector.
Person Website:
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/scott/aellis/
