My research makes use of species distribution models to document and understand human-induced changes in the occurrence of individual species and in patterns of biodiversity. Species distribution models identify statistical relationships between species occurrence on the one hand and environmental and anthropogenic factors on the other. They are thus useful tools in estimating the likelihood of species occurrence where survey data are lacking, and can provide useful clues as to the causes of distributional change.

My work applies these types of models to the distributions of Pacific reef fish species to examine the impact various levels of fishing pressure have had on species’ occurrence, abundance and community composition. It forms part of the Pacific Reef Fish Collaboration , which I coordinate, and the Lenfest Oceans Marine Extinctions Project.

My previous research has ranged from studying the international trade in seahorses to modeling the distributions of 1500 bird species in southern and eastern Africa. More details and a list of publications are available on my website.