Winchell Lab
Urban Evolutionary Ecology • Herpetology • Global Change
Urban Evolutionary Ecology
Research in our lab examines ecological and evolutionary dynamics of wildlife in cities by taking an integrative approach that combines ecology, studies of phenotypic change and the functional consequences, and genomics. Our research explores contemporary adaptation in response to a changing world in diverse taxa in New York City and beyond.
Herpetology
& Tropical Ecology
Work in the Winchell lab focuses on diverse organisms including invertebrates and birds.
Dr. Winchell’s primary expertise is in reptiles and amphibians, with extensive experience with Anolis lizards, a model species for evolution in the wild and distributed throughout the Caribbean. Current research in the lab involves Anolis lizards as well as Plethodontid salamanders and other amphibians of the Northeast.
Global Change and Conservation
Our research group is broadly interested in leveraging “natural experiments” in the real world to interrogate fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes. Focusing on drastic and rapid environmental change, from climate change to invasion biology to urbanization, our research explores the myriad synergistic impacts that humans have on the course of evolution and what that means for the future of life in the Anthropocene.
Research
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Evolution
Urban Evolutionary Biology
Evolution
ABOUT ME
I am an Assistant Professor at New York University. My research focuses on ecological and evolutionary consequences of urbanization with a special focus on Anolis lizards. This group of tropical lizards has a remarkable ability to rapidly adapt to changes in the environment, and many species thrive in urban areas. In my research I try to understand why some species (in this and other taxa) thrive in these areas while others do not, how they use urban habitats, and how common and convergent adaptive shifts are. In other words, why and how are animals evolving to keep up with drastic and rapid anthropogenic change?
CONTACT ME
Want to talk to me about my research? Lab opportunities? Press inquiry? Please get in contact.
