Li Lab

Quantitative Ecology in a Changing World

Data synthesis


How and why biodiversity has changed across space and time? How different environmental changes drive different facets of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic)? Can we find any general patterns across large spatial scales? How food web structures change along the latitudinal gradient?

We conduct data synthesis to answer these questions by compiling and analyzing spatially and temporally replicated datasets. We found that while there is limited evidence for declining biodiversity at local scales, ecological communities are getting similar with each other over time (i.e. biotic homogenization). Lots of stimulating questions remain. For example, how biodiversity affect ecosystem functioning at large spatial scales? How biotic homogenization would affect ecosystem functioning?

Selected articles

Changes in Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Diversity in the Anthropocene
Li D., Olden J. D., Lockwood J. L., Record S., McKinney M. L., Baiser B.,
Climate and Plant Community Diversity in Space and Time
Harrison S., Spasojevic M. J., Li D.,
Ecogeographical Rules and the Macroecology of Food Webs
Baiser B., Gravel D., Cirtwill A. R., Dunne J. A., Fahimipour A. K., Gilarranz L. J., Grochow J. A., Li D., Martinez N. D., McGrew A., Poisot T., Romanuk T. N., Stouffer D. B., Trotta L. B., Valdovinos F. S., Williams R. J., Wood S. A., Yeakel J. D.,