Zheng Lab

We are interested in the effects of global environmental change on biodiversity, with a particular focus on trait-based approaches to understand how human activities and climate change influence wildlife at multiple scales. A distinctive feature of our work is the use of natural history specimens, which enables the assessment of large-scale spatiotemporal intraspecific trait variation in response to global change.

Our research aims to advance both theoretical and empirical understanding of how biota respond to global change, ranging from individual-level trait shifts to community-level functional restructuring. By integrating field data, large-scale open databases, and statistical modeling, we aim to uncover general patterns of resilience and vulnerability in the face of rapid environmental change, and to inform more effective strategies for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management in a changing world.