I am an Integrative Evolutionary Ecologist, meaning that my research addresses a range of fundamental questions in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from a multi-disciplinary, integrative perspective and using a diverse array of tools including field experiments, phylogenetically-rooted comparative statistical analyses, quantitative estimates of physiological performance, experimental analyses of reproductive behavior, and molecular genetics.  I often work at the nexus of typically disparate fields of study, for example combining genetic, phylogenetic, physiological and macroecological perspectives in a single analysis of distribution and dispersal (Bernardo et al. 2007).  Because multiple causality is inherent in understanding ecological and evolutionary problems, my research emphasizes a strong inference approach that therefore relies on both large datasets and multivariate statistical models to evaluate competing hypotheses.  Most of my active work involves vertebrates and insects and other major invertebrate groups.

General areas of interest include:

• determinants of range size and position • biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change
• detection, and ecological and conservation implications of cryptic speciation and diversity
• vertebrate ecology and life history
• biology of amphibians and reptiles, especially salamanders and lizards
• speciation and evolution of reproductive isolation
• evolutionary ecology of body size including its role in species packing and community assembly
• clinal variation in life history and physiological traits
• comparative animal physiology and physiological ecology especially as they relate to life history variation and range occupation (macrophysiology)
• life history evolution
• evolution and implications of maternal effects, especially propagule size
• experimental ecology

Current active projects include:

1. Analysis of the tempo and mode of speciation in salamanders in which the relative and interactive contributions of ecological, behavioral, physiological and life historical factors are considered simultaneously;
2. Development of an operational, species traits-based approach to analyzing organismal vulnerability to climate changeand its application to a wide range of organisms including salamanders, marine turtles, and the ensemble of species used as food organisms by Inupiaq people of Alaska;
3. Large-scale comparative macrophysiological analyses of mammals and amphibians;
4. Landscape patterns and evolutionary basis of community assembly in salamanders;

More detailed descriptions of these and other research areas, related publications and opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student projects, as well as PDF files of all my publications are on the laboratory website.

1. Figgener, Christine, Joseph Bernardo, and Pamela T. Plotkin. 2022. Delineating and characterising critical habitat for the Eastern Pacific olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea): individual differences in migratory routes present challenges for conservation measures. Front. Ecol. Evol., Sec. Biogeography and Macroecology. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.933424