Biological Science Faculty Member

Williams Lab

Research and Professional Interests:

I am a quantitative ecologist interested in the functioning of ecological communities, especially in the context of global change, with a focus on vertebrates and plants. My research draws on community ecology and macroecology and uses a combination of fieldwork and computational approaches to study how changing communities alter ecological functions across scales, from species traits to local communities to regional biotas. Current research projects include (1) developing tools to analyze functional diversity and functional trait data, (2) analyzing the homogenization of global mammal assemblages, and (3) studying interactions between mast fruiting trees (e.g., pine) and granivorous-frugivorous consumers (e.g., mice) in southeastern savannahs and forests. Please see my lab website (linked above) for more information about my research, publications, and opportunities to join the lab.

Selected Publications:

Williams, PJ, EF Zipkin, A González-Melo, B Salgado-Negret, R González-M, N Norden, JP Benavides-Tocarruncho, JM Cely, JA Ferrer, D García-Villalobos, F Garzón, Á Idárraga-Piedrahita, R López-Camacho, E Moreno, J Nieto, C Pizano, J Puentes, EN Pulido-R, K Rivera, F Rojas-Bautista, V Salinas, JF Solorzano, & MN Umaña (2026) Ontogenetic shifts in wood anatomy and leaf traits in tropical dry forests. New Phytologist 249:848–859. DOI: 10.1111/nph.70725

Gilbert, NA, N Queally, JC Cooper, HN Eyster, & PJ Williams (2026) Heterogeneity, productivity, and migration drive continental evenness patterns of bird assemblages. Global Ecology and Biogeography 35:e70205. DOI: 10.1111/geb.70205

Gilbert, NA, PJ Williams, DJ Carlson, RM Dunlap, M Worland, CS Jennelle, & EF Zipkin (2026) Limited capacity of habitat features to buffer grassland bird declines. Ecological Applications DOI: 10.1002/eap.70298

Ayebare, S, PJ Williams, S Ceyzyk, & EF Zipkin (2026) Global impacts of anthropogenic threats on bird and mammal functional groups. Global Ecology and Conservation 69:e04292. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04292

Shabrani, A, A Granados, PJ Williams, MAF Suis, CT Tappa, AYC Chung, & JF Brodie (2026) Frugivores flock, but do carnivores follow? Multitrophic responses to masting in a tropical rainforest. Oecologia 208:35. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-026-05867-9

Williams, PJ & SR Curley (2025) Functional and phylogenetic convergence of winter and breeding bird communities in the Northeastern United States. Ecography 2025:e07717. DOI: 10.1002/ecog.07717

Zipkin, EF, PJ Williams (2025) Revealing species responses to environmental change through long-term data and mechanistic frameworks. Journal of Animal Ecology 94:2155–2158. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.70143

Youngflesh, C, K Kaspar, A Uscanga, PJ Williams, J Doser, L Kounta, & PL Zarnetske (2025) Environmental variability shapes life history of the world’s birds. Ecology Letters 28:e70077. DOI: 10.1111/ele.70077

Burns, P, Z Kaszta, SA Cushman, JF Brodie, CR Hakkenberg, P Jantz, M Deith, MS Luskin, JGC Ball, J Mohd-Azlan, DFRP Burslem, SM Cheyne, I Haidir, AJ Hearn, E Slade, PJ Williams, DW Macdonald, & SJ Goetz (2025) The utility of dynamic forest structure from GEDI lidar fusion in tropical mammal species distribution models. Frontiers in Remote Sensing 6:1563430. DOI: 10.3389/frsen.2025.1563430

Williams, PJ, EF Zipkin, & JF Brodie (2024) Deep biogeographic barriers explain divergent global vertebrate communities. Nature Communications 15:2457. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46757-z

Gilbert, NA, BR Amaral, OM Smith, PJ Williams, S Ceyzyk, S Ayebare, KL Davis, W Leuenberger, JW Doser, & EF Zipkin (2024) A century of statistical Ecology. Ecology 105:e4283. DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4283

Williams, PJ & JF Brodie (2023) Predicting how defaunation-induced changes in seed predation and dispersal will affect tropical tree populations. Conservation Biology 37:e14014. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14014

Brodie, JF, J Mohd-Azlan, C Chen, OR Wearn, MCM Deith, JGC Ball, EM Slade, DFRP Burslem, SW Teoh, PJ Williams, A Nguyen, JH Moore, SJ Goetz, P Burns, P Jantz, CR Hakkenberg, ZM Kaszta, S Cushman, D Coomes, OE Helmy, G Reynolds, JP Rodriguez, W Jetz, & MS Luskin (2023) Landscape-scale benefits of protected areas for tropical biodiversity. Nature 620:807–812. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06410-z

Williams, PJ, AK Moeller, A Granados, H Bernard, RC Ong, & JF Brodie (2022) Food availability alters community co-occurrence patterns at fine spatiotemporal scales in a tropical masting system. Oecologia 200:169–181. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05252-2

Williams, PJ, RC Ong, JF Brodie, & MS Luskin (2021) Fungi and insects compensate for lost vertebrate seed predation in an experimentally defaunated tropical forest. Nature Communications 12:1650. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21978-8