Our lab uses fundamental principles of ecological and evolutionary theory to better understand and predict the dynamics of inherently complex microbial systems. We employ molecular phylogenetics and bioinformatics to study microbial communities in soil and aquatic systems from around the world. Our recent work includes exploring patterns in microbial biogeography at the local and global scale, as well as using primary and secondary successional sequences to investigate the processes driving microbial community assembly and function. In addition to field and laboratory approaches, we use both statistical and mathematical modeling to understand microbial community assembly, and to address questions about the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes
