Research

Overview

My research focuses on quantitative ecology: using advanced mathematical and statistical tools to investigate relationships between living organisms and their environment. Most of the research in the Green Quantitative Ecology lab (QuantEco) is focused on fish and wildlife conservation. The two main themes are:

• Measuring human impacts: how do human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and pollution affect fish and wildlife populations? Can the effects of multiple influences be separated, statistically, using data from large-scale monitoring programs?
• Population risk assessment: what biological traits influence the vulnerability of populations to threats like pollution, climate change, and habitat loss? How does uncertainty about basic life history parameters (e.g., survival rates or reproductive rates) "scale up" to population-level effects?

Current projects

Spatial ecology of small mammals in urbanizing environments

Small mammals such as mice, rats, and voles are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems.  As consumers of seeds and vegetation they exert enormous influence over plant communities; they are also an important prey item for numerous predators.  Some species are also vectors of important human and animal diseases. At the same time, the environments where small mammals live are rapidly being altered by climate change and land use change as human populations increase.

Understanding how small mammals are affected by changes in their environment is critical to understanding changes in natural communities and emerging risks to human health. This project uses field sampling, physiological measurements, and sophisticated statistical modeling approaches to investigate how small mammals are impacted by their changing environment.

Click here to a see a recent slide deck presented by recent MSIB  graduate student Bri Casement showing how urbanization may be affecting small mammals across multiple levels of organization. This presentation was given at a DNR Small Mammal Working Group meeting in April 2024, and includes work from the theses of Bri and lab alum Leslie Lopez.

Currently MSIB student Sydney Morton is investigating how urbanization and land use change may affect the population genetics of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), pictured above. Her project includes DNA extraction and bench work, sequence analysis, and morphological analysis of mice. If you are a KSU undergraduate interested in working on this project, please reach out to Sydney or Dr. Green.

Recent projects

Human impacts on stream communities

Stream organisms respond to natural and human influences at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The abundance and diversity of stream biota are important indicators of overall watershed and stream health. Understanding how different factors influence these organisms across spatial and temporal scales is crucial for conservation of aquatic communities and ecosystems, as well as promoting water quality. Using data from state-wide stream biomonitoring programs, in combination with broad-scale spatial datasets, we are using sophisticated statistical approaches and machine-learning techniques to investigate how natural and human drivers within watersheds affect the communities that live in the state’s streams.

Click here to see a recent poster made by lab alumni Victoria Garcia-Belman and Ben Ducre showing how geography and forest cover affect stream biotic integrity in Georgia.

Drivers of coral decline

Corals are relatives of the jellyfish (Cnidaria) that build a hard exoskeleton from compounds in seawater. Their exoskeletons form large-scale structures called coral reefs that serve as habitat for some of the most diverse communities on Earth. Reef-building corals are currently under threat from numerous natural and human-caused factors. Together with external collaborators and undergraduate students, we are using publicly-available spatial data on coral status, ocean conditions, and inputs from shore to explore how specific human activities may or may not be responsible for the decline of these ecosystem engineers...and what management actions are likely to have an impact.

Click here to see a poster recently produced by Matt Freiler, 2022 graduate, for his Honors Capstone thesis. This work is currently being developed into a journal manuscript.

Student involvement in research

My success as a researcher and educator depends on the contributions of students of all levels—including undergraduates—in my research program. This means not only guiding students through the research process in the lab and field, but also keeping them involved through reporting and publication. Training undergraduates in field methods and data analysis has been vital to my research productivity. The quantitative and analytical skills students gain in my lab are essential in the modern job market; the quantitative and programming skills help prepare students for graduate work and for careers in academia, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and industry. If you are interested in joining the QuantEco lab please contact Dr. Green by e-mail to discuss current opportunities.

Interested in joining the lab?

KSU undergraduates: if you are interested in doing research in the lab, please send me an e-mail (ngreen62@kennesaw.edu) so we can have a conversation about your interests and how they might fit in to current projects. There are many ways you can get involved so please reach out!

Potential graduate students: The next opening for a new graduate student in my lab will be for Fall 2025. An advertisement may go out via ECOLOG-L and other listservs sometime in November or December 2024. If you are interested in future opportunities, feel free to reach out by email. You can also follow the lab on Twitter (@GreenQuantEco) for updates on lab events and activities.