A5023793911- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Plant and animal studies
- Study of Mite Species
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Polar Research and Ecology
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology
- Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology
- Lichen and fungal ecology
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Crustacean biology and ecology
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
University College Dublin
2020-2025
Queen's University Belfast
2013-2022
University of Aberdeen
2022
Ecological Society of America
2020
Antarctica New Zealand
2019
University of Waikato
2019
Freie Universität Berlin
2010-2018
University of Siena
2004-2011
John Benjamins Publishing Company (Netherlands)
1975
Biodiversity, a multidimensional property of natural systems, is difficult to quantify partly because the multitude indices proposed for this purpose. Indices aim describe general properties communities that allow us compare different regions, taxa, and trophic levels. Therefore, they are fundamental importance environmental monitoring conservation, although there no consensus about which more appropriate informative. We tested several common diversity in range simple complex statistical...
A major challenge for advancing our understanding of the functional role soil microbial communities is to link changes in their structure and function under climate change. To address this requires new mechanisms that underlie capacity resist recover from extremes. Here, we synthesize emerging intrinsic extrinsic factors influence resistance resilience extremes, with a focus on drought, identify drivers might trigger abrupt alternative states. We highlight research challenges propose path...
Soil microbial communities are dominated by a relatively small number of taxa that may play outsized roles in ecosystem functioning, yet little is known about their capacities to resist and recover from climate extremes such as drought, or how environmental context mediates those responses. Here, we imposed an situ experimental drought across 30 diverse UK grassland sites with contrasting management intensities found that: (1) the majority dominant bacterial (85%) fungal (89%) exhibit...
1. Ecologists are debating the relative role of deterministic and stochastic determinants community structure. Although high diversity strong spatial structure soil animal assemblages could provide ecologists with an ideal ecological scenario, surprisingly little information is available on these assemblages. 2. We studied species-rich oribatid mite from a Mediterranean beech forest grassland. applied multivariate regression approaches analysed autocorrelation at multiple scales using...
An increasing number of empirical studies are challenging the central fundamentals on which classical soil food web model is built. This assumes that bacteria consume labile substrates twice as fast fungi, and mycorrhizal fungi do not decompose organic matter. Here, we build emerging evidence points to significant consumption C by ability ectomycorrhizal matter, show constitutes a major presently underrated source for web. We use simple describing dynamics recalcitrant pool their fungal...
Hedge density, structure, and function vary with primary production slope gradient are subject to other diverse factors. Hedgerows emerging ecosystems both above- belowground components. Functions of hedges can be categorized as provisioning, regulating, cultural, supporting ecosystem services; these functions include food production, noncrop wood firewood pollination, pest control, soil conservation quality improvement, mitigation water flux availability, carbon sequestration, landscape...
There is evidence and serious concern that microplastics have reached the most remote regions of planet, but how far they travelled in terrestrial ecosystems? This study presents first field-based plastic ingestion by a common central component Antarctic food webs, collembolan Cryptopygus antarcticus . A large piece polystyrene (PS) foam (34 × 31 5 cm) covered microalgae, moss, lichens microfauna was found fellfield along shores Fildes Peninsula (King George Island). The application an...
Abstract As the most abundant animals on earth, nematodes are a dominant component of soil community. They play critical roles in regulating biogeochemical cycles and vegetation dynamics within across landscapes an indicator biological activity. Here, we present comprehensive global dataset nematode abundance functional group composition. This includes 6,825 georeferenced samples from all continents biomes. For geospatial mapping purposes these aggregated into 1,933 unique 1-km pixels, each...
Abstract Common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) are an enigmatic feature of soil and ecology. The current use the term ‘common network’ stipulates a direct, continuous physical link between plants formed by mycelium fungal genets. This means that specific case (involving hyphal continuity) is used to define much broader phenomenon hyphae interlinking among roots different plants. We here embrace more inclusive definition CMN as network genets plants, irrespective type connection or interaction,...
Summary While plant–fungal interactions are important determinants of plant community assembly and ecosystem functioning, the processes underlying fungal composition poorly understood. Here, we studied for first time root‐associated eumycotan communities in a set co‐occurring species varying relatedness species‐rich, semi‐arid grassland G ermany. The study system provides an opportunity to evaluate importance host plants gradients soil type landscape structure as drivers on relevant spatial...
The availability of global microbial diversity data, collected using standardized metabarcoding techniques, makes microorganisms promising models for investigating the role regional and local factors in driving biodiversity. Here we modelled symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi currently available data on AM fungal molecular (small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences) field samples. To differentiate between effects, estimated species pools (sets potentially suitable...
The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are an extreme polar desert. Mineral soils support subsurface microbial communities and translucent rocks development hypolithic on ventral surfaces in soil contact. Despite significant research attention, relatively little is known about taxonomic functional diversity or their inter-relationships. Here we report a combined interrogation for hypoliths the Miers Valley Antarctica. study employed 16S rRNA fingerprinting high throughput sequencing with...
Abstract Abiotic and biotic factors control ecosystem biodiversity, but their relative contributions remain unclear. The ultraoligotrophic of the Antarctic Dry Valleys, a simple yet highly heterogeneous ecosystem, is natural laboratory well-suited for resolving abiotic controls community structure. We undertook multidisciplinary investigation to capture ecologically relevant attributes more than 500 sites in encompassing observed landscape heterogeneities across 200 km 2 . Using richness...