​How will insects respond to a hotter and drier world?

How does lizard behavior change as they colonize new environments?

Why are Trinidadian guppies only found in freshwater?

Alex Mauro, PhD

I am fascinated by the ability of some organisms to readily respond to environmental challenges whereas others cannot. To investigate this, I study the evolutionary and ecological factors that set range limits, the ecology of successful colonizers, and how abiotic and biotic stressors interact to affect wild populations exposed to novel environments. My research combines evolutionary ecology, integrative physiology, behavioral ecology, and field biology. 

I earned my PhD in 2021 at Colorado State University in Dr. Cameron Ghalambor's lab, studying the range limits of Trinidadian Guppies. Next, I studied the behavioral ecology of three different morphs of fence lizards during a postdoc with Dr. Erica Bree Rosenblum at the University of California Berkeley. Currently, I'm investigating how insects respond physiologically to the combined stressors of heat and drought during a postdoc at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology.
Contact me here!