My research focuses on understanding biological complexity. Biological interactions are characterized by unpredictable behavior, including thresholds and non-linearities, and often span multiple spatial and temporal scales. At each level of biological organization – macromolecules, cells, tissues, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, landscapes – components interact with each other and with the environment to create the complex dynamics observed by humans. This unpredictability and “messiness” are what first attracted to me to biology, and what continue to fascinate me.
I examine biological complexity primarily from the perspective of ecology, but also have done some genomics and am hoping to do some population genetics in the next 3-5 years. Looking at the world as an ecologist, I explore the dynamics of whole organisms. In any given ecosystem, hundreds of species go about their daily business, interacting with one another and processing energy and nutrients. What factors control how the abundance of each species changes over time? To what extent are changes controlled by external factors, such as weather and anthropogenic activities, as compared to intrinsic interactions such as competition and predation? Are there underlying “rules” which can be used to predict future dynamics from theoretical principles, or are empirical summaries the only way to predict future behavior? Looking at the world using genomics, I explored the interplay among the hundreds to thousands of genes which determine the structure, function, and behavior of an organism. Which genes control the dynamics of the others, and why? What environmental factors cause the expression levels of these controlling genes to change? For organisms which live in very different habitats, how does gene expression change when the habitat changes? Do the same genes regulate expression levels in each habitat, or are there differences based on the environmental challenges faced?
My research projects typically combine empirical investigations with quantitative tools. My quantitative toolbox includes statistical analysis (both frequentist and Bayesian approaches) and computer programming of theoretical models. I enjoy being outside, working with real organisms and dealing with the unexpected events inherent in field research. Moreover, I find modeling, data production, and data analysis to be highly synergistic activities.
As of Spring 2009, my main research project focuses on the causes and consequences of blooms of the nuisance cyanobacterium Gloeotrichia echinulata in oligotrophic lakes. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about this or other projects underway in the lab.
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Author: Kathy
Cottingham
Last Updated: 31 March 2009