Brian J. Enquist and the Enquist Lab: Macroecology, Biodiversity, and Plant Functional Biology
Brian J. Enquist is a Professor at the University of Arizona and an External Faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. He leads the Enquist Macroecology Lab, where research focuses on understanding biodiversity, plant functional biology, and ecological scaling from local to global scales.
Research Focus
The Enquist Lab develops theory and empirical approaches to answer three broad questions:
- Why do organisms look the way they do? — Using metabolic scaling theory and plant functional traits to explain size, form, and physiology across the tree of life.
- How is biodiversity distributed and why? — Combining large-scale databases (BIEN, OpenTraits, GBIF) with statistical and mechanistic models to map and forecast plant biodiversity.
- How will biodiversity respond to global change? — Forecasting range shifts, extinction risk, and functional change under climate and land-use scenarios.
Core research areas include:
- Metabolic scaling theory and allometry
- Plant functional traits and trait-based ecology
- Macroecology and biodiversity informatics
- Conservation biology and extinction risk assessment
- Long-term ecology at the Santa Fe, New Mexico and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory field sites
- The BIEN (Botanical Information and Ecology Network) database
People and Team
The lab includes graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and undergraduate researchers working across macroecology, ecophysiology, biodiversity informatics, and plant biology.
Key Resources
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Lab Homepage | enquistlab.github.io |
| About Brian J. Enquist | /about/ |
| Publications | /publications/ |
| CV | /cv/ |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7398-9388 |
| Google Scholar | Brian J. Enquist |
| GitHub | github.com/benquist |
Contact and Collaboration
The lab welcomes inquiries from prospective students, postdoctoral researchers, and collaborators in macroecology, biodiversity science, and plant biology.