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Richard Erickson, PhD

Folks call me Richie. My research focuses on applying quantitative ecology to invasive species. Currently, I am developing population models to inform Invasive carp management and developing methods for applying occupancy models to environmental DNA (eDNA). 

Broadly, I am a research ecologist who studies the interactions between people and their environment. Specifically, I have studied:

  • Terrestrial invasive plant species (undergraduate jobs and internships);
  • Mosquito/dengue disease dynamics (my MS research);
  • Population-level and interspecific effects of pesticides (my PhD research);
  • The spatial impacts of wind energy and white-nose syndrome on bat population dynamics (my post-doc project); and
  • The distribution and dynamics of aquatic invasive species and the application of this knowledge to their control (my current position).  

Or, as a friend once said, "you model things dying". 

Along the way, I have picked up skills in ecological, mathematical ecology, computation biology, and high-throughput computing. Although my skill set and research interests may appear to be broad, they have an underlying theme of studying population-level effects and distribution and then applying these finding to resource management.