Why is Adaptive Capacity Important?
Adaptive behaviours that have evolved as optimized solutions to maximize fitness in response to environmental variation may now be compromised or maladaptive under human-induced rapid ecological change. My research team assesses whether (and if so, how) organisms have the capacity to adapt to co-occurring stressors by examining their decision-making in species that are: at risk, economically valuable, culturally integral, and ecologically relevant.
We furthermore use the knowledge we’ve learned to explore spatial and demographic patterns under future scenarios, using a combination of field and modelling approaches. To strengthen our research framework, we ensure our work is guided by community needs. This foundation allows us to evaluate how impacts can ultimately affect the persistence of wildlife, people, and place.
The ultimate goal of the Adaptive Capacity Lab is to search for balance in human-wildlife relationships.
