Brian P Tanis

Understanding the drivers and consequences of altered interaction networks between and within species and how such shifts influence ecological tipping points, species decline, and loss of ecosystem function is a major focus of my research. In particular, I reconstruct historical baselines to study how anthropogenic influence has altered ecological and evolutionary processes. Exploring these interactions at large spatial and temporal scales enables greater inferences into dynamic ecological patterns including shifts in coyote resource use following mesopredator release across the Pacific Northwest and the drivers of historical population declines in plains spotted skunks.

Modeling link-strengths in ecological networks and understanding the functional roles of past ecosystems requires robust metrics corresponding with quantifiable axes of a species niche. I am interested in exploring how different proxies quantifying dietary behavior can be incorporated to yield more accurate measures of a species dietary niche space. For instance, I have compared morphological trait data alongside behavioral proxies such as dental microwear textures to quantify dietary variability and explore the relationship between tooth position and microwear creation. Additionally, I have compared dietary proxies which integrate over varying time scales such as stable isotope analyses, dental microwear textures, and morphology to yield more complete and specific estimation of dietary niche.

Interactions between species can profoundly shape evolutionary trajectories when they manifest at ecosystem and clade scales. Understanding the drivers of extinction risk, faunal turnover, and niche differentiation is critical given high rates of species loss in the Anthropocene. My work seeks to clarify the relationship between dietary niche breadth and macroevolutionary patterns by quantifying niche space and modeling interaction potential among fossil canids. Leveraging the hyper-diverse assemblage of predators from the John Day Basin in central Oregon, I am using dental microwear texture analyses coupled with morphological data to test long-standing hypotheses such as the link between dietary plasticity, sister clade competition, community stability, and extinction risk