hoteles BasileaMy current research involvesapplying basic theoretical approaches in spatial processes to solve practicalproblems such as those in conservation biology. For conservation biologyand applied problems it is impossible to perform large-scale critical experiments.Models become a necessity. But only rarely are theoretical explorationsstructured to match up with the way models are used in decision-making.I am using novel approximations derived from my basic research to solvepersistent questions about habitat loss and reserve design. For example,how much habitat should be preserved, or how many reserves are necessaryfor the persistence of a metapopulation. My research has yielded simplerules of thumb aimed at answering these kinds of questions.

The models I have developedon habitat loss have generated testable predictions about the criticalamount of destruction at which a metapopulation becomes extinct. The novelcontribution here is that the effects of habitat loss are not the samewhen there is local (as opposed to global) colonization (Bascompte andSolé, 1996Buchen Sie die Top-Hotels in Sopot), and when differenttrophic levels are considered (Bascompte and Solé, 1998,five star hotel in BournemouthMelián and Bascompte,  2002).

In relation to reserve design,I have brought the concept of geometric mean fitness to provide an analyticalcriterion for metapopulation persistence in a stochastic environment. Thisapproach leads to simple rules of thumb regarding the minimum number ofreserves necessary for metapopulation persistence (Bascompte, Possinghamand Rougharden,  2002).

My long-term research goalis to work towards a predictive ecology. I am planning to work on modelsthat are useful in understanding ecological processes and lead to testablepredictions that can help us understand the mechanisms behind interestingecological phenomena.