I am a plant ecologist and I’m mainly interested in how and why plant species are so different to each other. Why did these differences evolve and what are the consequences for ecosystems? For example, plants produce seeds of many different sizes: the coco de Mer (a palm tree native to the Seychelles) can kill you if a seed happens to fall off while you’re standing underneath the tree! In contrast, orchids seeds are so small and poorly provisioned that they can’t even germinate without the help of mycorrhizal fungi. Why this diversity exists and how it persists are the key questions that drive my research.
Department/Institute: Biology
My research is focused on the use of fossils and modern datasets, models and innovative technologies to determine the diversity, distribution and abundance of plants and animals across global landscapes in space and time. This evidence-base is then used to understand biodiversity baselines, the resilience of biological communities to external shocks, the relationship between biodiversity and human health, and the distribution of natural capital assets across global landscapes that are important for human well-being.
I am an entomologist, community ecologist and conservation biologist studying the processes that maintain, structure and threaten biodiversity in a range of terrestrial ecosystems. Areas of current research areas include approaches to reconcile human land-use with biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the UK and in the tropics; the structure and dynamics of insect food webs and their responses to perturbations; the role of plant pathogens and insect herbivores in structuring and maintaining the high diversity of rainforest plants; and the impact of climate change on interspecific interactions and associated ecosystem functions and services. For further information, please visit the Community Ecology research group web pages.
I specialize in human-wildlife conflict, in particular analysis, mediation, policy and training. My applied work concentrates mostly on community engagement and stakeholder dialogue, while my research focusses on quantitative and qualitative social research on livelihoods and the socio-cultural aspects of living near wildlife. I also work on policy and capacity building for conservation conflict mediation, particularly at national and intergovernmental levels.
The overall objective of my research is to identify optimal management of environmental resources to maximise conservation and human welfare outcomes. In particular, my science is focused on improving our understanding of the dynamics of social-ecological systems, particularly marine systems. My research combines demographic and bio-economic modelling, non-market valuation and optimisation approaches. My topical interests include human-wildlife conflict, assessing marine use and non-use values, and spatial marine management.
I am interested in monitoring how invertebrate biodiversity responds to human-driven perturbations and the identification of effective mitigation and recovery strategies to minimise associated adverse impacts. Previous work has examined the invertebrate response to perturbations such as invasive species, novel pathogens via globalisation, and housing development through the lens of Biodiversity Net Gain.
My LCNR work involves examining how regenerative agriculture interventions, such as mob grazing, impact invertebrates relative to commercial grazing. With this has come important data with respect to biodiversity across the University’s Green Estate.
I am currently working on a research Sprint under the AGILE Initiative: a project that looks to provide rapid evidence-based solutions to the needs of environmental policymakers.Operationalising Treasury Green Book Guidance on biodiversity
My overall research interest lies in exploring, at the landscape scale, which components of biodiversity are the most crucial to protect and restore – given that ecosystems are dynamic, uncertain and subject to change. To do so, I work with simulation models and algorithms, large secondary (and occasionally primary) data sets, and spatial analysis of data including satellite imagery.
I have a particular interest in investigating the impacts of the private sector upon global biodiversity, and investigating mechanisms through which business can manage impacts and fund conservation and restoration activities.
I have a particular interest in developing and applying methods for understanding and predicting human behaviour in the context of local resource use in developing countries, and improving the effectiveness of incentive-based mechanisms such as payment for ecosystems services and biodiversity offsetting, in the marine and terrestrial realms.