About me
My name is George Brooks and I am currently a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I am a quantitative ecologist and evolutionary biologist interested in how populations, communities, and social-ecological systems respond to environmental change. My research combines ecological theory, mathematical models, and large-scale empirical datasets to uncover the processes that govern persistence, coexistence, and resilience across biological systems.
Much of my work focuses on understanding how environmental variability, species interactions, and human activities shape ecological dynamics. I have applied these ideas to topics ranging from endangered species conservation and amphibian ecology to fisheries sustainability, biological invasions, and life-history evolution. By linking fundamental theory with applied challenges, I seek to develop predictive frameworks that improve our ability to manage and conserve biodiversity in a rapidly changing world.
I am currently a Research Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I investigate the social and ecological dynamics of fisheries and renewable resource systems. Across all of my research, I am motivated by a common question: how can ecological theory help us understand and predict the fate of natural systems in an uncertain future?
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Recent research highlights
Species coexistence and community dynamics
Ecological costs of invasive species management create narrow safe operating spaces for aquatic plant communities (Journal of Environmental Management, 2026). Understanding how management actions alter community stability and invasion outcomes.
Population persistence under environmental change
Concurrent threats and extinction risk in a long-lived, highly fecund vertebrate with parental care (Ecological Applications, 2024). A theoretical framework for predicting extinction risk of a giant salamander under interacting stressors.
Life-history evolution
Fundamental constraints on vertebrate life history are shaped by aquatic-terrestrial transitions and reproductive mode (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2025). Revealing how major evolutionary transitions constrain demographic evolution across vertebrates.
Social-ecological resilience
Gradually, then suddenly: transient dynamics of collapsing fisheries in a warming climate (Ecological Modelling, 2026). Exploring how environmental change and dynamic human behavior shape fisheries sustainability.
