Research Interests

My research links theoretical and empirical work spanning spanning population ecology and optimal decisions in behavior and life history. I address questions in applied ecology, such as conservation biology and invasion ecology, as well as basic ecology such as optimal resource allocation, and predator prey interactions mediated by foraging behavior and escape responses.  While my empirical work focuses on entomological research, my theoretical work considers a wide rage of taxa such as plants, mammals, and marsupials.

Current projects

1. Indirect interactions between prey mediated by a shared predator

2. Influence of temperature on population establishment 3. Non-equilibrium dynamics of structured populations following disturbance (e.g. encounter with predators/parasitoids)

4. Global perturbation analysis in structured populations using Monte-Carlo and robustness analysis.

5. Optimal resource allocation in insects mediated by the trade-off between current and future reproduction

Recent Publications

2008

Miller, T.E.X., Tenhumberg, B., and Louda, S.M. (2008): Herbivore-mediated ecological costs of reproduction shape the life history of an iteroparous plant, American Naturalist 172 (2), 141-149.

Lubben, J., Tenhumberg, B. Tyre, A.J., and Rebarber, R. (2008): Management Recommendations Based on Matrix Projection Models: The Importance of Considering Biological Limits, Biological Conservation, 141, 517-523.

Tenhumberg, B., Louda, S.M., Eckberg, J.O.,and Takahashi, M. (2008): Monte-Carlo analysis of parameter uncertainty in matrix models of the weed Cirsium vulgare. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45, 438-447.

2007

Tyre, A.J., Kerr, G.D., Tenhumberg, B. and Bull, C.M. (2007): Identifying mechanistic models of spatial behaviour using pattern-based modelling: an example from lizard home ranges. Ecological Modelling 208: 307-316.

Deines, A. Peterson, E, Ryan, R., Lubben, J., Keighley, A., Tenhumberg, B.  Rebarber, R. Townley, S. Boeckner, D., Boyle, J., Kogut, J., Tyre, A.J. (2007): Robust population management under uncertainty for structured population models. Ecological Applications 17 (8), 2175-2183.

2006

Tyre, A.J., Tenhumberg, B. and Bull, C.M. (2006): Identyfying landscape pattern from individual scale processes. Ecological Modelling, 199: 442-450

Tenhumberg, B., Siekman, G, and Keller, M.A. (2006): Optimal time allocation in parasitic wasps searching for hosts and food. Oikos 113: 121-131.

2004

Siekmann, G., Keller, M.A., and Tenhumberg, B. (2004): The sweet tooth of adult parasitoid Cotesia rubecula: ingnoring hosts for nectar? Journal of Insect Behavior 17 (4): 459-476.

Tenhumberg, B., Tyre , A.J. Shea, K. and Possingham, H.P. (2004): Linking wild and captive populations to maximize species persistence: optimal translocation strategies. Conservation Biology 18 (5): 1304-1314. 

Tenhumberg, B., Tyre , A.J., Pople, and A. Possingham, H.P. (2004): Do harvest refuges buffer kangaroos against evolutionary responses to selective harvesting. Ecology 85 (7): 2003-2007.

2003

Tyre, A.J., Tenhumberg, B., Field, S.A., Niejalke, D., Parris, K., Possingham, H.P.  (2003): Improving precision and reducing bias in biological surveys by estimating false negative error rates in presence-absence data. Ecological Applications 13 (6): 1790-1801.

Tyre , A.J., Bull, C.M., Tenhumberg, B., and Chilton, N. (2003): Indirect evidence of density-dependent population regulation in Aponomma hydrosauri (Acari: Ixodidae), an ectoparasite of reptiles. Australian Journal of Ecology 28, 196-203.

Tenhumberg, B., Keller, M.A., Possingham, H.P., and Tyre , A.J. (2001): The effect of resource aggregation at different scales: optimal foraging behaviour of Cotesia rubecula, The American Naturalist 158 (5), 505-518.

2001

Siekmann, G., Tenhumberg, B. and Keller, M.A. (2001): Feeding and Survival in Parasitic Wasps: Sugar concentration and Timing matters, Oikos 95 (3), 425-430.

Tenhumberg, B., Keller, M.A., Possingham, H.P., and Tyre , A.J. (2001): Optimal patch leaving behaviour: a case study using the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula, Journal of Animal Ecology 70, 683-691.

Tenhumberg, B., Keller, M.A., and Possingham, H.P. (2001): Using Cox’s proportional hazard models to implement optimal strategies: en example from behavioural ecology, Mathematical and Computer Modelling 33, 597-607.

2000

Tyre , A.J., Tenhumberg, B., McCarthy, M.A., and Possingham, H.P. (2000): Swapping space for time and unfair tests of ecological models. Australian Journal of Ecology 25, 327-331.

Tyre , A.J., and Tenhumberg, B. (2000): Hidden mechanisms generate negative feedbacks in a stochastic model. Australian Journal of Ecology 25, 305-307.

Tenhumberg, B., Tyre , A.J., and Roitberg, B.D. (2000): Stochastic variation in food availability influences weight and age at maturity. Journal of Theoretical Biology 202, 257-272.