J Alex Baecher

J Alex Baecher

PhD candidate, Research Assistant

Scheffers Lab @ University of Florida

About me

The good bits: Native to the foothills of Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains. My life consists of… my wife (Kristin), my daughter (Faye), my dog (Ollie), herping, hiking, swimming and canoeing, woodworking, and home DIY projects.

The serious bits: I am an ecologist, with training in herpetology and landscape ecology, and I have an interest in research at the interface between conservation, ecology theory, and mathematical modeling. My research is aimed at developing cutting-edge quantitative solutions to model complex data about the ecology of reptiles and amphibians. I primarily work with invasive species and species of conservation concern to determine how landscape attributes affect the dynamics and connectivity of populations, while providing management-relevant recommendations to effectively manage species.

This website serves to increase the accessibility and reproducibility of my research. As such, I take extra care to ensure my projects (i.e., data, methods, code, and publications) are transparent and easily interpreted on this website. If you do not find this to be true, please contact me via my (many) personal links below!

Interests

  • Conservation
  • Ecology Theory
  • Herpetology
  • Landscape & Spatial Ecology
  • Reproducible Research
  • Southeastern USA Natural History
  • Statistics

Education

  • PhD, Interdisciplinary Ecology, Statistics, ~2024

    University of Florida

  • MSc, Biology, 2017

    Eastern Kentucky University

  • BSc, Biology, 2014

    University of Arkansas

Select Experience

Formal positions (excluding internships)

 
 
 
 
 

PhD Candidate, Research Assistant

University of Florida, Brett Scheffers, PhD

Aug 2019 – Present Gainesville, FL
 
 
 
 
 

Conservation and Research Technician

Memphis Zoo Research and Conservation, Steve Reichling, PhD

Jan 2018 – Jul 2019 Memphis, TN
 
 
 
 
 

MSc Student, Teaching Assistant

Eastern Kentucky University, Stephen Richter, PhD

Mar 2015 – Dec 2017 Richmond, KY
 
 
 
 
 

Full Time Research Assistant

University of Arkansas, JD Willson, PhD

Jan 2013 – Dec 2015 Fayetteville, AR
 
 
 
 
 

Part Time Research Technician

University of Arkansas, Biology Dept.

Aug 2010 – Dec 2012 Fayetteville, AR

Recent Publications

click ‘see all publications’ for more

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.
Mechanisms, detection and impacts of species redistribution under climate change

Mechanisms, detection and impacts of species redistribution under climate change

In Nature Reviews Earth and Environment

Bringing traits back into the equation, A roadmap to understand species redistribution

Bringing traits back into the equation, A roadmap to understand species redistribution

In Global Change Biology

Experimental evaluation of how biological invasions and climate change interact to alter the vertical assembly of an amphibian community

Experimental evaluation of how biological invasions and climate change interact to alter the vertical assembly of an amphibian community

In Journal of Animal Ecology

Vertical stratification patterns of tropical forest vertebrates

Vertical stratification patterns of tropical forest vertebrates

In Biological Reviews

Research

projects I have goin’ on

Appalachian Salamander Ecology

Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation of Plethodontid Salamanders.

Climate-induced species redistribution

Modeling the spatial dynamics of invasive species.

Geostatistical Modeling

Modeling the spatial dynamics of species using Bayesian geostatistical methods

Landscape Ecology

Projects related to landscape ecology

Reptile and Amphibian Ecology

Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation of Herps in the Southeastern US.

Transboundary Conservation of Biodiversity Under Climate Change

An analysis of connectivity at the transboundary interface

R sandbox

a place tutorials and fun projects

Contact

jbaecher(at)ufl(dot)edu