Dr. Shannon L. LaDeau

Dr. LaDeau investigates how spatially and temporally distinct population dynamics define ecological communities and ecosystem function. Ecological communities are increasingly faced with diverse ‘global change’ disturbances, including invasive species, changes in climate and weather regimes, and anthropogenic habitat modification. LaDeau’s research is focused on understanding the mechanisms that generate spatial and temporal heterogeneity in when and where ecological communities resist and succumb to global change pressures.

Dr. LaDeau received her Ph.D. in ecology at Duke University in 2005, where she investigated forest response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) plots. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Bioinformatics from the National Science Foundation in 2008, at The Ohio State University Program in Spatial Statistics and Environmental Sciences and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.