I am an ecologist who combines field and geospatial data and methods to study the pattern and process of ecological systems. I also strive to build bridges between science and social science. What motivates my work is recognition of the complexity of the relationship of humans and ecological systems. These relationships and their emergent properties can be studied at different spatial scales and levels of organization. Knowledge gained from field studies, geospatial data, and analysis can be used to build models that help scientists and to understand the implications of human actions on the social and natural systems of which they are a part.

The goal of Bill Currie's research program is to understand and model the organization, causal interactions, and dynamics in ecosystems. Dr. Currie models ecosystems and landscapes to contribute to understand carbon exchange with the atmosphere, effects of global change, and human-environment interactions. If we can capture the right complexity in our models of natural systems, we can apply this understanding to represent, study, or simulate future scenarios in linked human-natural systems.

Research interests focus on land use change and its effects on ecosystems and on human vulnerability. This work connects a computer-based simulation (e.g., agent-based modeling) of land-use-change processes with GIS and remote sensing based data on historical patterns of landscape change and social surveys. We are working to couple these models with GIS-based data and other models to evaluate consequences of change. We are also working to understand the ways in which land-use decisions are made. Collaborative research investigate the effects of spatial and social neighborhoods on the physical and social risks on human health.

Research interests include the effects of natural and anthropogenic stresses on Great Lakes and marine ecosystems, with a focus on the use of models and integrated assessments in transferring knowledge to the decision-making process. Teaching interests include the roles of conveying uncertainty, peer review, stakeholder input, interpreting trends, prediction, scale, and government interaction in developing and applying Integrated Scientific Assessments.

Teaching involves general aquatic and stream/river ecology. Research interests include ecology of rivers and lakes, watershed management, community dynamics and population regulation, trout stream food webs, behavioral adaptations of aquatic insects, fish invertebrate interactions, and fisheries management.