Qμe[st]

Quantitative Ecology in Space and Time

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J Alex Baecher
J Alex Baecher

Postdoctoral Researcher

Utah State University

About Me

Serious bits:

I'm a spatial ecologist dedicated to understanding the processes that determine the distribution of biodiversity. My research interests include:

  • macroecology

  • biogeography

  • population ecology

  • conservation

  • spatiotemporal modeling

  • herp natural history

  • transparent science

Good bits:

I'm an Arkansas native (Ozark Mountains) based out of Gainesville Florida, a stereotypical girl dad (soon to be 2x), proud union member, and lover of:

  • swimming

  • hiking

  • biking

  • canoeing

  • herping

  • home DIY

  • wood working

Education

Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Ecology | University of Florida (2024)

M.Sc., Biology | Eastern Kentucky University (2017)

B.Sc., Biology | University of Arkansas (2014)

Experience

  1. Postdoctoral Research Fellow (USGS CASC)

    Utah State University
    Wolf-Clark lab (Dept. Wildland Resources) & Stuber lab (USGS)

  2. Postdoctoral Research Associate

    University of Florida
    Campbell lab (Florida Medical Entomology Lab) & Guralnick lab (Florida Natural History Museum)

  3. Conservation and Research Technician

    Memphis Zoo
    Dept. Conservation and Research
Research
Appalachian Salamander Ecology
Appalachian Salamander Ecology

Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation of Plethodontid Salamanders.

Sep 10, 2019
Biodiversity redistribution
Biodiversity redistribution

Understanding the ecology of climate-induced range shifts

Sep 10, 2019
Landscape connectivity
Landscape connectivity

Estimating how the landscape influences movement

Sep 10, 2019
Reptile and Amphibian Ecology
Reptile and Amphibian Ecology

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

Sep 10, 2019
Spatial modeling
Spatial modeling

Developing spatial and spatiotemporal models using stochastic partial differential equations

Sep 10, 2019
Publications (since 2024)
J Alex Baecher, V a Askshay, Robert Guralnick, Amy M Bauer, Yasmin N Tavares, Yesenia Sánchez, James T Thorson, Lindsay P Campbell (2025). Toward Ecological Forecasting of West Nile Virus in Florida: Insights from Two Decades of Surveillance. EcoEvoRxiv.
Preprint PDF Cite Code Project DOI
Luke J. Evans, J Alex Baecher, Brett R. Scheffers (2024). Invasion risk posed by the pet trade. As a Research Communication in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
PDF Cite DOI Project
J Alex Baecher (2024). The environmental filtering paradigm and non-filtering community assembly processes. Journal of Biogeography.
PDF Cite DOI Slides Project Supplimental Figure
David H. Klinges, J Alex Baecher, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Ilya M. D. Maclean, Jonathan Lenoir, Caroline Greiser, Michael Ashcroft, Luke J. Evans, Michael R. Kearney, Juha Aalto, Isabel C. Barrio, Pieter De Frenne, Joannès Guillemot, Kristoffer Hylander, Tommaso Jucker, Martin Kopecký, Miska Luoto, Martin Macek, Ivan Nijs, Josef Urban, Liesbeth Van Den Brink, Pieter Vangansbeke, Jonathan Von Oppen, Jan Wild, Julia Boike, Rafaella Canessa, Marcelo Nosetto, Alexey Rubtsov, Jhonatan Sallo-Bravo, Brett R. Scheffers (2024). Proximal microclimate: Moving beyond spatiotemporalresolution improves ecological predictions. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
PDF Cite Code Dataset DOI David Klinges Supplimental Info
Jake A. Lawlor, Lise Comte, Gaël Grenouillet, Jonathan Lenoir, J Alex Baecher, R.M.W.J. Bandara, Romain Bertrand, I-Ching Chen, Sarah E. Diamond, Lesley T. Lancaster, Nikki Moore, Jerome Murienne, Brunno F. Oliveira, Gretta T. Pecl, Malin L. Pinsky, Jonathan Rolland, Madeleine Rubenstein, Brett R. Scheffers, Laura M. Thompson, Brit Van Amerom, Fabricio Villalobos, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Jennifer Sunday (2024). Mechanisms, detection and impacts of species redistribution under climate change. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
PDF Cite DOI Project Jake Lawlor
Lise Comte, Romain Bertrand, Sarah Diamond, Lesley T. Lancaster, Malin L. Pinsky, Brett R. Scheffers, J Alex Baecher, R. M. W. J. Bandara, I- Ching Chen, Jake A. Lawlor, Nikki A. Moore, Brunno F. Oliveira, Jerome Murienne, Jonathan Rolland, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Jennifer Sunday, Laura M. Thompson, Fabricio Villalobos, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Jonathan Lenoir (2024). Bringing traits back into the equation, A roadmap to understand species redistribution. Global Change Biology.
PDF Cite Code Dataset DOI Project Lise Comte Supplimental Info
See all publications
Recent Talks
Expanding the scope of connectivity modeling with Markov chains: perspectives and applications in R
Expanding the scope of connectivity modeling with Markov chains: perspectives and applications in R

Associated with the International Association of Landscape Ecologists (IALE) meeting

Dec 19, 2023
Expert elicitation of key invasive species habitat requirements, prevalence, and life history attributes
Expert elicitation of key invasive species habitat requirements, prevalence, and life history attributes

Addressing data needs through expert-practioner knowledge co-generation

Dec 19, 2023
Species redistribution and connectivity (Intro)
Species redistribution and connectivity (Intro)

Associated with the Species On The Move (SOTM) meeting

Dec 19, 2023
Informing Species Range-shifts with (preliminary) Global Connectivity
Informing Species Range-shifts with (preliminary) Global Connectivity

3rd Species On The Move conference, 2023

May 17, 2023
Predicting the spread of invasive Burmese pythons in South Florida
Predicting the spread of invasive Burmese pythons in South Florida

Integrating multi-scale data with hybrid ecological models to evaluate the role of management, climate, and habitat

Nov 17, 2022
See all talks
R sandbox: 📊 Coding Tutorials
Machine Learning the 'Tidy' Way
Machine Learning the 'Tidy' Way

A tutorial on K-nearest neighbor and boosted trees using the *tidymodels* framework

Oct 22, 2021
Linear regression with gradient descent
Linear regression with gradient descent

A machine learning approach to standard linear regression

Sep 22, 2021
Mapping Ecological Flow in R
Mapping Ecological Flow in R

A tutorial on randomized shortest-path (or random walk, a la circuit theory)

Aug 12, 2020
Empirical Dynamic Models for Forecasting
Empirical Dynamic Models for Forecasting

A tutorial on forcasting with stationary and non-stationary time series

Aug 12, 2016
See all tutorials →
Teaching & Mentoring

I believe education must be student-centered, holistic, and equitable. By fostering a supportive, engaging environment and recognizing all of students’ needs (educational, emotional, and biological), I empower students to demonstrate mastery or seek additional support as needed.

Teaching Philosophy:

  • encourange real-world problem solving through inquiry-based learning

  • provide hands-on, experiential activities

  • create active learning exercises (e.g., case studies)

Mentoring Philosophy:

  • align progress with student goals and well-being

  • provide space to explore, make mistakes, and reflect

  • encourage external collaboration

Student outcomes

My students have gone on to pursue careers in:

  • Career progression: 7 students now in MS (5) and PhD (2) programs and credit my mentorship in shaping their career trajectory
  • Academic output: 11 conference presentations, 1 undergraduate thesis, and 4 peer-reviewed publications

Recent courses taught

  • Environmental Science | University of Florida (2022-2024)*

    • Topics: Environmental monitoring, data collection, modeling, technical speaking and writing

    • Methods: R programming, GIS analysis, field techniques

    • Enrollment: 12 students

      Course Materials | Syllabus (PDF) | R Tutorials

    Env Science 2023

Select Guest Lectures & Workshops

  • Salamander Conservation in the Southeastern USA - University of Florida (Spring 2020)
  • Grassland Herpetofauna Restoration Ecology - University of Florida (Spring 2020)
  • Landscape Connectivity Principles - University of Florida (Spring 2020)
  • Expert Elicitation for Invasive Species Management - IALE Conference (2023)
  • SAMC Connectivity Modeling - Species on the Move Conference (2023)