ecology and conservation; GIS and remote sensing

University of Kansas, Ph.D. (2009)
University of Kansas, M.A. (2003)
Universitatea de Vest, Romania, B.A (1999)

My research group investigates the factors that shape species’ geographic distributions at diverse spatial and temporal resolutions by combining ecological niche modeling techniques with GIS and remote sensing tools. We also work broadly on issues in the theory and practice of ecological niche modeling.

The main drivers of my research are: (1) to understand species’ distributional patterns across broad spatial scales (2) to derive local-scale ecological models that take into account seasonality and its effects on animal distributions and (3) to integrate information from physiological ecology into geographic distribution studies. My long-term research program centers on diverse approaches to understanding effects of human system processes on natural systems, and on strengthening linkages between physiological ecology and geographic distributions of species.

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• Papeş, M., J.E. Havel, and M.J. Vander Zanden. 2016. Using maximum entropy to predict the potential distribution of an invasive freshwater snail. Freshwater Biology 61:457-471.
• Feng, X. and M. Papeş. 2015. Ecological niche modelling confirms potential northeast range expansion of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). Journal of Biogeography 42:803-807.
• Palacios Gonzáles, M., E. Bonaccorso, and M. Papeş. 2015. Applications of geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques to conservation of amphibians in northwestern Ecuador. Global Ecology and Conservation 3:562-574.
• Papeş, M., F. Cuzin, and P. Gaubert. 2015. Niche dynamics in the European ranges of two African carnivores reflect their dispersal and demographic histories. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:737-751
• Peterson, A.T., M. Papeş, and J. Soberón. 2015. Mechanistic and correlative models of ecological niches. European Journal of Ecology 1:28-38.
• Harris, A.J., M. Papeş, Y. Gao, and L. Watson. 2014. Estimating paleoenvironments using ecological niche models of nearest living relatives: a case study of Eocene Aesculus Journal of Systematics and Evolution 52:16-34.
• Papeş, M., R. Tupayachi, P. Martínez, A.T. Peterson, G.P. Asner, and G.V.N. Powell. 2013. Seasonal variation in spectral signatures of five genera of rainforest trees. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (JSTARS) 6:339-350.
• Papeş, M., A.T. Peterson, and G.V.N. Powell. 2012. Vegetation dynamics and avian seasonal migration: clues from remotely sensed vegetation indices and ecological niche modelling. Journal of Biogeography 39:652-664.
• Jiménez-Valverde, A. Barve, A. Lira-Noriega, S. Maher, Y. Nakazawa, M. Papeş, J. Soberón, J. Sukumaran, and A.T. Peterson. 2011. Dominant climate influences on North American bird distributions. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20:114-118.
• Papeş, M., M. Sällström, T.R. Asplund, and M.J. Vander Zanden. 2011. Invasive species research to meet the needs of resource management and planning. Conservation Biology 25:867-872.
• Peterson, A.T., M. Papeş, and J. Soberón. 2008. Rethinking receiver operating characteristic analysis applications in ecological niche modeling. Ecological Modelling 213:63-72.
• Papeş M. and P.Gaubert. 2007. Modelling ecological niches from low numbers of occurrences: assessment of the conservation status of poorly known viverrids (Mammalia, Carnivora) across two continents. Diversity and Distributions 13:890-902.