NovakLab
Our lab studies how the interactions between species affect the structure and dynamics of ecological communities. We are particularly interested in aquatic systems, both marine and freshwater, and use a combination of observational and experimental approaches to inform and test mathematical models of multispecies interactions. We thereby aim to contribute theory that integrates our understanding of the behaviour of individuals (e.g., predator foraging) with the ecosystem-level consequences of the interacting populations and species they constitute.
Our lab values diversity. We are immigrants and the descendants of immigrants. We are atheists, agnostics, and people of faith. We don't all look the same, love the same, or share the same heroes. We are scientists.
Alumni
Alumni
Kyle Coblentz
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
University of Nebraska, Lincoln (postdoc)
Jeremy Henderson
Lab Manager
Oregon Fish & Wildlife (project manager)
Shannon Hennessey
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, ARCS Foundation Fellow
Arizona State University (postdoc)
Alison Iles
Postdoc
Kurt Ingeman
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
NOAA NMFS (marine ecosystem researcher)
Dan Preston
Postdoc
Colorado State University (assistant professor)
Zachary Randell
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Seattle Aquarium
Leah Segui
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, NSF GROW Fellow
Pew Charitable Trusts (senior associate)
Chris Wolf
Affiliate Graduate Student
Oregon State University (research associate)
Technicians and Undergraduate Alumni
Trevor Bark
Independent Research
Alicen Billings
Research Assistant
Julia Bingham
Honors Student
Duke University (phd student)
Landon Falke
Research Assistant
Colorado State University (phd student)
Paige Foust
Independent Research
Daniel Gradison
Research Assistant
Tamara Layden
Research Assistant
Reed College
Stephanie Merhoff
Research Assistant
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
Hamza Moulvi
Independent Research
David Rockow
Honors Student
Wendy Saepharn
Research Assistant
Element Materials Technology (microbiologist)
Jonny Schwartz
Research Assistant
Isaac Shepard
Honors Student
University of Maine (phd student)
Sam Sturman
Research Assistant
Simone Vachon
Independent Research
Beatriz Werber
Research Assistant
Oregon Health and Science University
Research
Recent Publications
(2026).
Models reveal potential synergies in management actions for bull kelp forest resilience and restoration.
Journal of Applied Ecology.
(2026).
FracFeed: Global database of the fraction of feeding predators.
Ecology.
(2025).
In defense of Type I functional responses: The frequency and population-dynamic effects of feeding on multiple prey at a time.
The American Naturalist.
(2025).
Simple, universal rules predict trophic interaction strengths.
Ecology Letters.
(2025).
Body mass–biomass scaling modulates species keystone-ness to press perturbations.
Ecology Letters.
(2025).
Age-prevalence curves in a multi-species parasite community.
Functional Ecology.
(2024).
Corrigendum: Geometric complexity and the information-theoretic comparison of functional-response models.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Teaching
Data-Theory Integration
Workshop at RMBL on integrating theory and data on species interactions
Ecology (BI370)
Distribution, structure and dynamics of species, communities and ecosystems
Marine Ecology (BI351)
Physical, chemical and biological aspects of life in the oceans, with an ecological emphasis
Past courses
Courses and seminars of the past
Theoretical Ecology (IB592)
Analysis of dynamical systems, from single populations to species-rich communities