PhD - Unexplained limits on species distributions. What do they mean for conservation?
I work primarily with species distribution models, trying to understand species biogeography on a changing planet. I'm interested in range shifts caused by climate change, the process of naturalisation in introduced species, plant physiology and multi-taxonomic trends. The ability to build consistent predictions for species that are shifting range, either naturally or due to human introductions, is crucial for future conservation planning.
The increasing availability of large datasets means that these key ecological questions can be tested on a global and multi-species level. My current work uses climatic and non-climatic data to investigate what drives range and niche shifts over time, and building predictions to test in the field.
Before starting my PhD, I did my Bsc in Zoology at the University of Durham, followed by an MRes in Ecology. I worked for two years in Prague as a Network administrator before moving to Cornwall. Soon I will be moving on to a post-doc at ZSL conducting climate change vulnerability assessments on European seabirds.
