Dr. Aaron David is the Program Director of Plant Ecology at Archbold Biological Station. He completed is B.A. at Washington University in St Louis, and his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. He has been working in Florida ecosystems since 2016, including postdoctoral positions at the University of Miami and the USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory prior to starting his position at Archbold in 2021. His research interests include plant population ecology, plant-microbe interactions, and biological control of invasive plants.

Aaron S. David, Ph.D.

Director of Plant Ecology, Assistant Research Biologist

Kevin oversees all aspects of land management on the Station and Reserve. This includes planning for and implementing prescribed burns, dealing with wildfire events, treating populations of exotic species and collecting monitoring  data. When not lighting fires Kevin enjoys photography, writing, and spending time with family.

Kevin Main, B.S.

Land Manager

Josh earned a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University, a M.Sc. in Zoology while a Fulbright Scholar at James Cook University in Australia, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University. Prior to his current position at Archbold, Josh was a Donnelly Postdoctoral Environmental Fellow at Yale University, and helped reestablish post-war scientific capacity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, while researching how civil war affects wildlife Africa-wide. He was also a biologist in the US Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters leading Species Status Assessments under the Endangered Species Act.

Josh’s current research includes (1) modeling statewide habitat connectivity and the impacts to it from conservation and development, (2) integrating conservation priority setting and land use planning data to improve development forecast models, and (3) understanding climate impacts on fire management.

Josh leads Archbold’s application of science to our four Conservation Pillars. He developed Archbold’s protocol for tracking our impacts, and helps secure conservation of species and ecosystems statewide through collaborations with dozens of agencies, landowners, NGOs, and researchers. Josh also oversees our land management on the Station and Reserve’s to maintain our natural laboratories. 


Joshua Daskin, Ph.D.

Director of Conservation, Research Biologist

Many remaining fragments of scrub have a history of disturbance that leaves a landscape with abnormally large open sand gaps that make burns ineffective, and high abundance of spike moss and lichens that suppress endemic herbs. Mechanical treatment before a fire can spread large shrub debris (or, ‘fuels’) that carry a fire and potentially stimulate seed germination. Our work investigates how mechanical treatment can improve scrub restoration.

Saving the broken fragments

Major Findings & Impact

Project Details

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