My Masters by Research project looked into the Range Expansions of a Natural Coloniser, the Small Red-Eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum), in the UK. This species is native to Europe, and has been expanding it's North and West range margins due to climate change. Evidence suggests that they arrived in the UK without human interference, and I was interested in whether they had the potential to be as damaging as human-introduced invasive species. I used Bayesian modelling techniques to project it's future range margins based on it's expected climate, environmental, and biotic tolerances.
Currently, I'm a PhD candidate at Lincoln University in New Zealand exploring range margins and niche limits of common Dock species (Rumex spp.). In particular we are interested in whether any niche shifts have occurred between it's native (UK) and introduced range (NZ).
I'm combining modelling techniques with a 2 year transplant experiment to determine whether NZ genotypes have experienced a niche shift since being introduced.