Sophie Yang

I’m fascinated by all aspects of the natural world and have a constant itch to understand why we see the patterns we see in nature. This led me to jump into the world of theoretical ecology and mathematical modelling. Although initially scary, it has unlocked the capacity for me to investigate the logic of my understanding and interrogate the complexity we see in real ecosystems. It is really cool that theoretical biologists have reproduced some of the patterns we see with models by mathematically representing only a few simple biological processes.

Supervised by: Daniel Falster, Will Cornwell, Isaac Towers

Project Title: Unravelling the key eco-evolutionary processes leading to trait and species turnover in plants

Project Description: My project is about understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape how plant traits change along environmental gradients, and how this leads to species turnover. My first chapter is on understanding why trait-environment relationships often differ within species versus across communities. I use a combination of mathematical models and empirical data to inform each other and build a more mechanistic understanding of the patterns we see in nature.

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/sophiey_