Humans increasingly impact ecological communities through chemical contamination, habitat destruction, translocation of species, and climate change. The Hoverman Lab examines how anthropogenic chemicals such as pesticides affect aquatic communities. By applying ecological and evolutionary frameworks, our research seeks to identify the mechanisms through which pesticides affect populations, communities and ecosystems. We use a combination of field studies and controlled laboratory and mesocosm experiments to address these goals. Because Purdue is located in the ‘corn belt’ of the Midwest, our results have immediate applications to the conservation and management of local biodiversity. The links below provide a few examples of our work.