Natalie Kerr, Assistant Research Professor  

Natalie Kerr

I’m an evolutionary demographer that uses empirical and theoretical approaches to explore trade-offs, life history phenomena, and population dynamics of plants, insects, and social organisms.

The primary focus of my research has been using novel techniques for data collection (e.g. RFID systems), statistical analysis (e.g. functional linear models), and model construction (e.g. voltinism models, structured population models) to investigate the effects of global change on insect and plant populations through a natural history lens. My research spans three areas: life history evolution, comparative demography, and global change biology.

Education:
Ph.D., Tufts University, 2019

Email Address: natalie.kerr@duke.edu
Web Page: https://nataliezoekerr.com/

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

  1. Morris, WF; Kerr, NZ, POPULATION ECOLOGY IN PRACTICE, The Quarterly Review of Biology, vol. 97 no. 2 (2022), pp. 154-155 .
  2. Kerr, NZ; Malfi, RL; Williams, NM; Crone, EE, Larger workers outperform smaller workers across resource environments: An evaluation of demographic data using functional linear models., Ecology and Evolution, vol. 11 no. 6 (March, 2021), pp. 2814-2827 [doi]  [abs].
  3. Kerr, NZ; Wepprich, T; Grevstad, FS; Dopman, EB; Chew, FS; Crone, EE, Developmental trap or demographic bonanza? Opposing consequences of earlier phenology in a changing climate for a multivoltine butterfly., Global Change Biology, vol. 26 no. 4 (April, 2020), pp. 2014-2027 [doi]  [abs].
  4. Ramula, S; Kerr, NZ; Crone, EE, Using statistics to design and estimate vital rates in matrix population models for a perennial herb, Population Ecology, vol. 62 no. 1 (January, 2020), pp. 53-63, WILEY [doi]  [abs].
  5. Kerr, NZ; Crone, EE; Chew, FS, Life history trade‐offs are more pronounced for a noninvasive, native butterfly compared to its invasive, exotic congener, Population Ecology, vol. 62 no. 1 (January, 2020), pp. 119-133, WILEY [doi]  [abs].