Role of Local Scale Processes in Generating Macro- Ecological & Evolutionary Patterns:
Many researchers note the value of examining scale in ecology and evolution as processes that dictate pattern or structure at one scale may not transfer up or downward. As Levin (1992) states, “Cross-scale studies are critical to complement more traditional studies carried out on narrow single scales of space, time and organization complexity.” Central to this question is the extent that local-scale ecological mechanisms drive global diversity and size spatiotemporal patterns. My previous research indicates whereas community-level mechanisms, i.e. division or resources, determine the local body-size distribution, they are insufficient to explain the distribution of species over size classes at larger spatial scales. Rather, the often right-skewed distribution at regional to global levels requires differential rates of extinction and speciation coupled with hard boundaries on minimum and maximum size. My current research involving both an experimental and field sampling approach addresses how biotic and abiotic factors control alpha- and beta-diversity and the extent to which they contribute to landscape and global diversity of marine invertebrates. I am additionally collaborating on a project addressing the role of ecological interactions in governing biodiversity through the taxonomic and ecological diversification of gastropods in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic