KERRY BROWN
RESEARCH
My research addresses how fluctuations in demographic rates directly influence changes in ecosystem-level processes, and with that data I build predictive models that estimate the long-term impact of such changes on vegetation patterns. Another associated theme of my research is the role of historical land-use in shaping contemporary forest structure. I study these ecological processes in the context of plant invasions, with a focus on tropical systems. Biological invasions provide the ideal circumstance to simultaneously study both ecosystem-and population-level processes, because observable ecological impacts will be more apparent with respect to plant invaders since they are new additions to the community. Research on plant invasions can provide answers to fundamental ecological questions such as: 1) how does a new species in an ecosystem successfully establish viable populations? and 2) why are they able to spread rapidly in their new habitat?