David A. Vasseur

David A. Vasseur serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, where his research laboratory investigates fundamental questions in theoretical ecology. His work integrates mathematical modeling, laboratory experiments, and analysis of long-term ecological data to understand community dynamics in aquatic systems.

Dr. Vasseur received his BSc (1999) and MSc (2002) from the University of Guelph, Canada, followed by a PhD from McGill University (2006). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary (2006-2008) before joining Yale University. His research program focuses on three interconnected themes: the maintenance of biodiversity in aquatic communities, spatial population synchrony, and eco-evolutionary dynamics of competitive communities.

His laboratory has produced significant research on how environmental variability affects ecological systems, with recent publications examining temperature-nutrient interactions in primary producers, forecasting extinction risk using thermal performance curves, and the productivity-stability relationship in global food systems. His work bridges theoretical approaches with empirical validation to address pressing ecological questions with implications for conservation and ecosystem management.

Dr. Vasseur teaches General Ecology (EEB 220a/520a EVST 223a) in the fall semester, covering ecological theory and practice across multiple scales. In spring, he leads graduate seminars on quantitative methods, fundamental readings in ecology, and time-series analysis. He serves as an associate editor for American Naturalist and Ecology and Evolution.

His laboratory includes postdoctoral fellow Carling Bieg and graduate students Misha Kummel, Alison Robey, and Abby Skwara, continuing a tradition of mentoring that has produced numerous successful ecologists now at institutions including University of Guelph, University of Nebraska Lincoln, UCLA, and Oxford University.