WELCOME TO THE PORTFOLIO OF
RACHEL HARTNETT
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
“LIKE MOST MATHEMATICIANS HE TAKES THE HOPEFUL
BIOLOGIST TO THE EDGE OF A POND, POINTS OUT THAT A GOOD SWIM WILL HELP HIS
WORK, AND THEN PUSHES HIM IN AND LEAVES HIM TO DROWN.”
—CHARLES ELTON
I am currently striving toward a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology under the direction of Dr. Lawrence J. Weider at the University of Oklahoma. As concisely as possible, my working thesis involves using theory and experimentation to better understand how population structure influences community properties and stability. I am using Daphnia as a model organism and trying to link life-history trait to demography to communities using size-distributions. In other words, I get excited over equations and graphs, while trying to keep myself grounded in real systems.
Scaling can be informally defined as the consequence of changing scope. Both
biological and methodological considerations of scale play a large role in
scientific inquiry (Weins et al. 1986). There are biological consequences of
scaling that include allometric constraints (body-size scaling), available
habitat space and the grain of that space, and the length of time available for
biologic reaction (e.g. storm periodicity). In addition, empirical studies must
use the most appropriate spatial and temporal extent to answer the question of
interest. For a blatant example, one cannot track evolutionary changes by using
a single generation.
In my own research, scaling is all-important. I start at a small spatial and
temporal scale (the individual and its lifetime), and then move up to larger
and longer experiments. I do this in order to look at different mechanisms that
govern process. Metapopulation and metacommunity theory has been derived from
approaching ecology at different scales and grains, and it has been shown that
different processes are operating at different scales (Cottenie et al. 2003).
How does physiology affect life-history dynamics? In turn, to what extent do
life-history dynamics govern species competition and coexistence? These
questions must be addressed at different scaling points. In a sense, I am
attempting to use size-distributions as a tool to link processes occurring at
different points along a spatial scale. Although, my current work does not give
evolutionary processes more than a passing nod (because it is often difficult
to sample widely along both spatial and temporal scales), there is definite
room for growth along that axis in the future.
Ecologists have a tendency to skim through equations in papers and shy away from mathematical modeling. I can’t comprehend the aversion since numbers don’t lie (unless they are manipulated in the wrong hands, but that’s a separate issue…). But it is important to recognize that models are not reflections of nature or comprehensive by any means. Models generate quantitative predictions for how a system works. Therefore, it is crucial to ground-truth models with empirical work. It works out, because when my eyes are tired of staring at a computer screen, I can hop over to the lab bench to work.
If you would like to view my background information, please click on the link below. This includes my education, grants, professional experience, and outreach.
SEE MORE