Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

My research is broadly centered on conservation biology and animal responses to environmental change. I focus on two parallel lines of inquiry: (1) How do extrinsic exposure and  intrinsic sensitivity of species interact to shape their responses to rapid environmental changes, including land use? (2) Through rigorous impact evaluation of ecosystem management interventions, how can we improve the implementation and placement of these interventions in the future? I am interested in how we can integrate advances in global change ecology with applications of conservation science.

Selected publications (see Google Scholar Profile for all publications)

Nowakowski AJ, Deichmann JL, Connette G, Barata IM, Basham EW, Bower DS, Lau MWN, Olson DH (2024) Chapter 10. Surveys and monitoring: challenges in an age of rapid declines and discoveries. In Amphibian Conservation Action Plan: A status review and roadmap for global amphibian conservation. IUCN SSC Occasional Paper, No 57. https://doi.org/10.2305/QWVH2717

Canty SWJ, Nowakowski AJ, Cox CE, Valdivia A, Holstein DM, Limer B, Lefcheck JS, Craig N, Drysdale I, Giro A, Soto M, McField M (2024) Interplay of management and environmental drivers shift size structure of reef fish communities. Global Change Biology 30: e17257. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17257

Nowakowski AJ, Watling JI, Murray A, Deichman JL, Akre TS, Muñoz Brenes CL, Todd BD, McRae L, Freeman R, Frishkoff LO (2023) Protected areas slow declines unevenly across the tetrapod tree of life. Nature 622:101-106. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06562-y

Nowakowski AJ, Canty SWJ, Bennett N, Cox C, Valdivia A, Deichman JL, Akre TS, Bonilla SE, Coastedoat S, McField M (2023) Co-benefits of marine protected areas for nature and people. Nature Sustainability 10:1210-1218. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01150-4

Nowakowski AJ, Peaden JM, Tuberville TD, Buhlman KA, Todd BD (2020) Thermal performance curves based on field movements reveal context-dependence of thermal traits in a desert ectotherm. Landscape Ecology 35:893-906.         

Rivera-Ordonez JM, Nowakowski AJ, Manansala A, Thompson ME, Todd BD (2019) Thermal niche variation among individuals of the poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, in forest and converted habitats. Biotropica 51:747–756.

Nowakowski AJ, Frishkoff LO, Agha M, Todd BD, Scheffers BR (2018) Changing thermal landscapes: merging climate science and landscape ecology through thermal biology. Current Landscape Ecology Reports 3:57-72.

Nowakowski AJ, Frishkoff LO, Thompson ME, Smith TM*, Todd BD (2018) Phylogenetic homogenization of amphibian assemblages in human-altered habitats across the globe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115:E3454-E3462. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714891115

Nowakowski AJ, Watling JI, Thompson ME, Brusch GA, Catenazzi A, Whitfield SW, Kurz DJ, Suarez-Mayorga A, Aponte-Gutiérrez A, Donnelly MA, Todd BD (2018) Thermal biology mediates responses of amphibians and reptiles to habitat modification. Ecology Letters 21:345-355.

Nowakowski AJ, Whitfield SM, Eskew EA, Thompson ME, Rose JP, Caraballo BL, Kerby JL, Donnelly MA, Todd BD (2016) Infection risk decreases with increasing mismatch in host and pathogen environmental tolerances. Ecology Letters 19:1051-1061.