Welcome to the Young Lab

Research in our lab lies at the intersection of community ecology, ecosystem ecology and conservation biology. Specifically we focus on understanding the effects of wildlife loss and human disturbance on community structure and ecosystem function. Recent work has focused particularly on effects of wildlife loss on human health and well-being. We work at both local and global scales, and use a range of observational, experimental, and meta-analytical approaches. Please look under the Locations tab to find more detail on our research locations.

Lab meetings

Lab meetings for the Spring Quarter are held on Mondays at 4pm in Noble Hall room 1231. All are welcome to join.

News

Click on images below for more information or go to our News tab for more Young Lab related news.

Recent Publications

View recent publications of Young Lab Members here or go to our Publications tabs for more.

Gull sitting on nest; Photo Credit: Romina BM via Unsplash

Active breeding seabirds prospect alternative breeding colonies

PI Hillary Young was involved in a study that examined how prevalent prospecting is among several seabird species. The authors suspect that this behavior will be important in better predicting the seabirds' response to environmental changes.

Shoal of Convict Surgeonfish, Credit: Philippe Bourjon

Differences in the behavior and diet between shoaling and solitary surgeonfish (Acanthurus triostegus)

Former staff member Ana Sofia Guerra explores how the ecological function of a shoaling surgeonfish may differ from that of solitary conspecifics on two Pacific coral reefs.

Western Gull standing on a rocky shore - Photo Credit: Bryce Carithers

Leaving more than footprints: Anthropogenic nutrient subsidies to a protected area

Western Gulls are generalists known to forage on human refuse. This paper, led by Ana Sofia Guerra, sought to explore how this type of foraging may change nutrient deposition patterns at the gulls' feeding sites on the Channel Islands.

Ocean Image at Sunset Credit: Sebastian Voortman

Mismatches in scale between highly mobile marine megafauna and marine protected areas

PI Hillary Young was involved in a large effort to determine if Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are aiding in the conservation of marine megafauna, or if more protections are needed.

Large forest fire Credit: Cameron Strandberg

Food webs for three burn severities after wildfire in the Eldorado National Forest, California

Post-doc researcher John McLaughlin studied the post-fire effects on plant and animal communities following the King Fire, a megafire that occurred in the Eldorado National Forest. He created food webs in this study "to explore community responses to fire severity across trophic levels."

Large cloud of smoke and fire Credit: Pixabay

Small mammal responses to fire severity mediated by vegetation characteristics and species traits

With the frequency of "mega-fires" on the rise, former graduate student Kate Culhane examined what happens to small mammal communities in the aftermath of fires with varying severity.