Welcome!

Structural ecology is the study of how organisms interact with the 2- and 3-dimensional structure of their environment. In practice, this means trying to understand how animals respond to their surroundings as revealed by their movement, and the implication of this for their ability to survive and thrive on that landscape.

Our lab studies metapopulation dynamics, individual and collective animal movements in complex landscapes, and other issues of spatial ecology and conservation. We collaborate closely with the Swarm Lab at NJIT.


Elephant tracks in Etosha National Park, Namibia.


My other lab

I am also a co-PI of the Urban Ecology Lab at NJIT, an undergraduate-focused group conducting research on campus, in Newark, and elsewhere.

Dr. Gareth Russell

  • (1996) Ph.D. Zoology, University of Tennessee
  • (1992) B.A. Zoology, Oxford University

News

12 April, 2025

Grant Bowers won this year's "Outstanding Graduate Student" award from the Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts.

16 March, 2025

Grant Bowers just won a best student presentation award: "The Eugene P. Odum Award is sponsored by the Southeastern Chapter of the Ecological Society of America. This award is given annually for the best student oral presentation on ecological research at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists."

15 March, 2025

The Bee Morphology group of UEL students who presented a poster at the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America meeting yesterday won first place in the Undergrad Poster Division!

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