Category Archives: Featured Researchers

Florian Muthreich is a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Bergen, focusing on the application of chemical variations in fossil pollen to understand ecosystem dynamics. Florian’s work focuses on identifying Oak (Quercus) pollen in sediment cores – which is particularly difficult to differentiate with a light microscope – atContinue reading “ECR feature: Chemical variations in fossil pollen with Florian Muthreich”

Jéssica Fenker is a PhD candidate at Australia National University. She is a herpetologist with a particular interest in adaptive radiations, species diversification, and savanna ecosystems. Jéssica shares her recent work, a multidisciplinary study, on characterising the biodiversity of lizards in the Cerrado, South America. Jéssica Feneker posing with a goanna in Australia (left), andContinue reading “ECR feature: Jéssica Fenker”

Antonia V. Mayr is a Postdoc at the University of Würzburg department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology. Her research is based in tropical mountain ecology and focuses on questions about how climate and land use change affect species, and how functional and phylogenetic diversity relate to changes in ecosystem services. Antonia provides background informationContinue reading “ECR feature: Cavity-nesting pollinators and their antagonists with Antonia Mayr”

Ida M. Mienna is a PhD student at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, having recently completed her master’s degree at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her current work focuses on understanding the spatial ecology of the forest-tundra ecotone in Fennoscandia, especially through investigating drivers of change and establishing a high resolution monitoring systemContinue reading “ECR feature: Norwegian plant distributions with Ida Mienna”

Zach Carter is a PhD student at the University of Auckland School of Biological Sciences, focusing on invasion biology, island ecosystems, and physical geography. He is currently studying landscape-scale eradication of invasive mammals of the New Zealand archipelago, including rats, mustelids, and the common brushtail possum. Zach shares the motivations and challenges behind his recentContinue reading “ECR feature: Invasive mammals with Zach Carter”

Letícia Soares is a postdoc at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, and is interested in disease ecology and evolution. In her recently published paper in Journal of Biogeography, Letícia studied the malarial parasites in North American migratory bird species in their Hispaniola over-wintering range. She shares her findings from herContinue reading “ECR feature: Letícia Soares on migratory birds and their pathogens”

Ryan Burner is currently a postdoc at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He is a community ecologist with an interest in the birds and insects harboured in tropical ecosystems. His recent work in the Journal of Biogeography has investigated the range limits of birds inhabiting Bornean mountains. Ryan shares his findings on temperature gradientsContinue reading “ECR feature: Bornean birds and elevational limits with Ryan C. Burner”

Emma Jardine is currently an environmental land management scientist at DEFRA. She is interested in the use of functional traits to understand how plants respond to the environment. Her recently published work in the Journal of Biogeogrphy considers the relationship between functional traits in grass species and environmental variables at a macroecological scale. Emma sharesContinue reading “ECR feature: Grasslands and functional traits with Emma Jardine”

Kristen de Graauw is a dendroarchaeologist: that’s someone who studies the plant material in old human-made structures, such as buildings, artefacts and furniture. She is a recent PhD graduate from West Virginia University. In her recent work in the Journal of Biogeogrpahy, she describes the role of human occupation in shaping the distribution and dynamicsContinue reading “ECR Feature: Kristen K. de Graauw on tree rings and historic log buildings”

Esther Dale studies plant diversification as a postdoc at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research in Dunedin and the University of Otago, Department of Botany. Her recent publication in the Journal of Biogeography tests biome conservatism in Australian Acacia using species distribution modeling. Esther discusses the implications of her findings, particularly that hyper-diverse Australian Acacia providesContinue reading “ECR feature: Plant diversification with Esther Dale”