Nikunj Goel receives the 2016 Ton Damman Award from ESA.

November 22, 2016

Congratulations to Nikunj!

The winner of the Ton Damman Award for 2016 is Nikunj Goel for his presentation entitled “Spatiotemporal dynamics of savanna-forest distribution”.  Nikunj, who conducted his research at Yale University, says “It is well known that spatial processes can qualitatively change the ecological dynamics, for example promoting coexistence where none is otherwise possible. Yet ecologists rarely considered the role of space in evaluation ecological patterns at large spatial scales-such as distribution of biomes. Using a simple spatial model, we show that spatial interactions can potentially increase the resilience of tropical savanna and forest to climate and anthropogenic changes than what is predicted by non-spatial models.  Including spatial interactions in biome distribution models may be crucial if we want to evaluate future biome responses to global change.”