SpaCE (Spatial and Community Ecology) Lab is based in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne and led by Dr Lynette Loke.

Our lab investigates the forces that drive and maintain biodiversity, using intertidal marine systems as model ecosystems to address fundamental questions in ecology.

Our research areas

We study how habitat structure, spatial complexity, and species interactions shape biodiversity patterns across scales, providing insights into the processes that structure ecological communities.

Community ecology

Spatial complexity

Biodiversity solutions

By uncovering the mechanisms that structure biodiversity patterns, we aim to inform strategies to mitigate its loss in the face of rapid coastal urbanisation and global environmental change.

OUR RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

By combining observational and experimental fieldwork, ecological modelling, and theoretical insights, we translate our findings into innovative conservation and eco-engineering approaches.