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Temperature is a determining factor in the distribution, success, and phenology of terrestrial ectotherms. The ability to survive harmful/suboptimal temperatures is key in determining spaces where species can inhabit. The ability to physiologically perform, is key in determining spaces where species can persist or even thrive. This thermal performance is characterized by the measurement of a given performance trait over a range of temperatures which, stereotypically, results in a curve (i.e.- thermal performance curve). Broadly, I am interested in the local adaptation and acclimation of these thermal performance curves in small ectothermic organisms.

Insects are everywhere. They have adapted to live in some of the planet’s harshest environments. I am interested in the mechanisms of this local adaptation and the potential for seasonal acclimation. With climatic change, many environments face warmer temperatures, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and unseasonable patterns of temperature and precipitation. Understanding local adaptation and the capacity for plastic acclimation helps us understand how climate change will shape current and future populations.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Bioscience at Aarhus University working with Johannes Overgaard, Jesper Sørensen, and Torsten Kristensen. We are investigating the ecological consequences of acclimation across species of Drosophila.
My dissertation work with Lauren Buckley and Joel Kingsolver looked at morphological, physiological, and plastic mechanisms that organisms can use to respond to environmental temperature. Using Rocky Mountain Colias, a genuis of butterflies that has a tractable relationship between morphology and environment that determines activity time, we evaluated behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary responses over an elevation gradient.
My master’s thesis work in the Gilchrist lab (http://gwgilc.people.wm.edu/) looked at proximate life history responses to novel combinations of temperature and photoperiod.  Using a two by two factorial design I tracked development time, survivorship, and population growth rate to look for an interaction between the two cues. This study reaffirmed by belief that it is important to consider the multivariate environment (and not just temperature) in projecting how organisms will respond to climate change.