Kai Zhu, Author at Zhu Lab @ UMich SEAS

Kai received Sino-Eco Award

Kai’s 2016 PNAS paper won the Best Young Investigator Paper Award, recognized by the Sino-Ecologists Association Overseas (Sino-Eco). Kai received the award at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, OR. From the July 2017 issue of Sino-Eco newsletter: Dr. Kai Zhu is an assistant professor at University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Zhu completed his postdoc at Carnegie Institution for Science and Stanford University. Dr. Zhu received his Ph.D. in ecology and M.S. [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:33:43-04:00

Cong published in Remote Sensing of Environment

Cong's paper on a new vegetation index is published in Remote Sensing of Environment. Congrats, Cong! Wang C, Chen J, Wu J, Tang Y, Shi P, Black A, Zhu K (2017). A snow-free vegetation index for improved monitoring of vegetation spring green-up date in deciduous ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment, 196, 1-12.

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:33:50-04:00

Dr. Cong Wang joins Zhu Lab

Dr. Cong Wang, recently graduated from Beijing Normal University, joins Zhu Lab in March 2017. Cong's PhD research focused on developing new algorithms for improving the monitoring of vegetation phenology using remote sensing and investigating the relationship between vegetation phenology and climate change. Cong brings in expertise in remote sensing to the lab. Welcome, Cong!

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:33:59-04:00

Grassland paper chosen as cover in PNAS

Cover image: Pictured is grassland at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in California. Over 17 years, Kai Zhu et al. subjected this grassland to changes in temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, both individually and in combination, to determine how simultaneous changes in multiple global environmental factors would affect primary production. Primary production was a ridge-shaped function of temperature and precipitation, with peak production increasing with added nitrogen and shifting to lower temperatures with added [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:34:10-04:00

Grassland paper published in PNAS

Warmer, wetter climate would impair California grasslands Zhu K., Chiariello N.R., Tobeck T., Fukami T., Field C.B. (2016). Nonlinear, interacting responses to climate limit grassland production under global change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606734113. Paper link Rice University News link Carnegie Institution News link Inside Science -- American Institute of Physics link Associated Press link 17-year experiment finds present climate near optimal for plant growth Jade Boyd/Rice University HOUSTON — (Sep. [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:34:20-04:00

Coral reef paper published in Nature

Study: Ocean acidification already slowing coral reef growth Experiment dials back clock to test ocean reef growth in preindustrial conditions Albright R., Hosfelt J., Kwiatkowski L., Maclaren J.K., Mason B.M., Nebuchina Y., Ninokawa A., Pongratz J., Ricke K.L., Rivlin T., Schneider K., Sesboüé M., Shamberger K., Silverman J., Wolfe K., Zhu K., Caldeira K. (2016). Reversal of ocean acidification enhances net coral reef calcification. Nature. DOI 10.1038/nature17155 News release below (Rice link here). Jade Boyd/Rice University [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:34:30-04:00

New faculty at Rice

Greetings from Houston! I am now a Huxley Faculty Fellow in Department of BioSciences at Rice University. Biology began at Rice in 1912 with the appointment of Julian Huxley as the biology professor. Julian Huxley was the grandson of Thomas H. Huxley, a biologist himself and champion of Charles Darwin. Julian made many important contributions to the fields of ethology, ecology and cancer research, and was a powerful proponent of neo-Darwinism. His efforts are commemorated by [...]

Kai Zhu2017-09-02T12:27:15-04:00

Density dependence paper published in Ecology

Zhu K., Woodall C.W., Monteiro J.V.D., Clark J.S. (2015). Prevalence and strength of density-dependent tree recruitment. Ecology. 96, 2319-2327. My new paper on density dependence, as the cover paper in the cover of September 2015 issue of Ecology.

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:34:45-04:00

Figuring the odds of Earth’s global hot streak

Is global change real? How about this year's temperature record? I helped to calculate the odds--really low, indeed! GO FIGURE: Figuring the odds of Earth's global hot streak The global heat streak of the 21st century can be explained with statistics that defy astronomical odds. First, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration calculates global average temperature going back to 1880. That's 135 years. So if no other forces were in play and temperatures last year were totally [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:47:39-04:00

Stanford grant to study Ebola

Zhiyuan Song and I got a seed grant from Center for Innovation in Global Health Ebola Innovation at Stanford. We will use our expertise to solve global health challenges. Abstract below. Dynamically evaluating and mapping Ebola outbreak risks in West and Central Africa in response to social-environmental changes Since the first recorded outbreak of human Ebola virus disease in 1976, the Ebola epidemics have evolved from rare smallscale endemics to frequent largerscale epidemics. The current ongoing [...]

Kai Zhu2018-08-29T14:47:49-04:00

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About Kai Zhu