A5013402096- Oil Palm Production and Sustainability
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Plant and animal studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Forest ecology and management
- Agricultural and Environmental Management
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Forest Management and Policy
- Date Palm Research Studies
- Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Hemiptera Insect Studies
- Geometric and Algebraic Topology
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Urban Green Space and Health
- Fern and Epiphyte Biology
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
University of Cambridge
2016-2025
Imperial College London
2011-2024
Bridge University
2020-2023
Indiana University Bloomington
2017
University of Virginia
2016
University of California, Berkeley
2010
NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
2009
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
2009
Wildlife Trusts
2007-2008
University of Bedfordshire
2008
Land use change is a major threat to biodiversity. One mechanism by which land influences biodiversity and ecological processes through changes in the local climate. Here, relationships between leaf area index five climate variables - air temperature, relative humidity, vapour pressure deficit, specific humidity soil temperature are investigated across range of types Borneo, including primary tropical forest, logged forest oil palm plantation. Strong correlations with found for mean daily...
Over the last 25 years, research on biodiversity has expanded dramatically, fuelled by increasing threats to natural world. However, number of published studies is heavily weighted towards certain taxa, perhaps influencing conservation awareness and funding for less-popular groups. Few have systematically quantified these biases, although information this topic important informing future priorities. We investigated: i) which animal taxa are being studied; ii) if any taxonomic biases same in...
Abstract Terrestrial animal biodiversity is increasingly being lost because of land-use change 1,2 . However, functional and energetic consequences aboveground belowground across trophic levels in megadiverse tropical ecosystems remain largely unknown. To fill this gap, we assessed changes energy fluxes ‘green’ (canopy arthropods birds) ‘brown’ (soil earthworms) food webs rainforests plantations Sumatra, Indonesia. Our results showed that most the channelled to web. Oil palm rubber had...
Abstract Invertebrates are dominant species in primary tropical rainforests, where their abundance and diversity contributes to the functioning resilience of these globally important ecosystems. However, more than one-third forests have been logged, with dramatic impacts on rainforest biodiversity that may disrupt key ecosystem processes. We find contribution invertebrates three processes operating at trophic levels (litter decomposition, seed predation removal, invertebrate predation) is...
Forested tropical landscapes around the world are being extensively logged and converted to agriculture, with serious consequences for biodiversity potentially ecosystem functioning. Here we investigate associations between habitat disturbance functional diversity of ants termites—two numerically dominant functionally important taxa in rain forests that perform key roles predation, decomposition, nutrient cycling seed dispersal. We compared ant termite occurrence composition within...
Abstract Tropical forests play a major role in the carbon cycle of terrestrial biosphere. Recent field studies have provided detailed descriptions mature tropical forests, but logged or secondary received much less attention. Here, we report first measures total net primary productivity ( NPP ) and its allocation along disturbance gradient from old‐growth to moderately heavily Malaysian Borneo. We measured main components (woody, fine root canopy n = 6) 5) 1 ha forest plots. Overall, did not...
Oil palm is the most productive oil crop per unit area and crucial to economy of developing countries such as Malaysia Indonesia. However, it also highly controversial due impact has on biodiversity. Inputs herbicides control understory vegetation in plantations are high, which likely harm native biodiversity, but may be unnecessary protecting yield. In this study we investigate effects manipulation using soil fauna, litter decomposition rates abiotic variables: pH, organic carbon, water...
Summary Dragonfly assemblages (Odonata: comprising damselflies, Zygoptera; and dragonflies, Anisoptera) in Southeast Asian rainforests are extremely diverse but increasingly threatened by habitat disturbance, including logging conversion of forest to oil palm plantations. Land‐use change can affect dragonfly larval stages altering within‐stream environmental conditions, adults loss perches, shade hunting habitat. However, the extent which dragonflies affected land‐use is not well known,...
Logged and structurally degraded tropical forests are fast becoming one of the most prevalent land-use types throughout tropics routinely assumed to be a net carbon sink because they experience rapid rates tree regrowth. Yet this assumption is based on forest biomass inventories that record stock recovery but fail account for simultaneous losses from soil necromass. Here, we used plots an eddy covariance tower quantify partition ecosystem CO 2 exchange in Malaysian Borneo, region hot spot...
Abstract Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they dynamic ecosystems 1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity 2,3 , so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value 4 . Here present empirically defined thresholds categorizing the logged forests, using one most comprehensive assessments taxon responses habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed impact...
The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis the logging conversion forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning broad suite properties: (i) structure environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, (iv) functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous often complex nonlinear....
Abstract: Deforestation rates in South-East Asia are among the highest of any tropical region, with expansion oil palm being one important factor. Despite this, few studies have investigated impact on arthropod fauna. We report here first study forest conversion to overall abundance, biomass and composition. compared abundance biomass, collected from epiphytic bird's nest ferns, canopy, leaf litter between primary forest, logged plantation. Epiphytes, canopy all contained a lower (epiphytes:...
Globally, natural ecosystems are being lost to agricultural land at an unprecedented rate. This land-use often results in significant reductions abundance and diversity of the flora fauna as well alterations their composition. Despite this, there is little public perception which taxa most important terms total biomass, biodiversity or ecosystem services they perform. Such awareness for conservation, without appreciation value conservation status, species unlikely receive adequate...
Despite a large increase in the area of selectively logged tropical forest worldwide, carbon stored deadwood across degradation gradient at landscape scale remains poorly documented. Many stock studies have either focused exclusively on live standing biomass or been carried out primary forests that are unaffected by logging, despite fact coarse woody debris (deadwood with ≥10 cm diameter) can contain significant portions forest's stock. We used field-based assessment to quantify how relative...
Abstract Freshwaters provide valuable habitat and important ecosystem services but are threatened worldwide by loss degradation. In Southeast Asia, rainforest streams particularly logging conversion to oil palm, we lack information on the impacts of this freshwater environmental conditions, relative importance catchment versus riparian‐scale disturbance. We studied 16 in Sabah, Borneo, including old‐growth forest, logged palm sites. assessed forest quality riparian zones across whole...
Abstract. Borneo contains some of the world's most biodiverse and carbon-dense tropical forest, but this 750 000 km2 island has lost 62 % its old-growth forests within last 40 years. Efforts to protect restore remaining hinge on recognizing ecosystem services they provide, including their ability store sequester carbon. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is a remote sensing technology that allows forest structural properties be captured in great detail across vast geographic areas. In recent...
Oil palm plantations have expanded rapidly in recent decades, and are causing substantial impacts on tropical habitats biodiversity. However, owing to its long lifespan (25-30 years), oil forms a much more varied structurally-complex habitat than many other crops. This can include abundant understory vegetation also epiphytes trunks. the diversity of this plantation has been poorly studied, there little consideration common management practices plant communities. We conducted long-term...
Conversion of tropical forest to agriculture results in reduced habitat heterogeneity, and associated declines biodiversity ecosystem functions. Management strategies increase agricultural landscapes have therefore often focused on increasing complexity; however, the large-scale, long-term ecological experiments that are needed test effects these rare systems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)—one most widespread important crops—offers substantial potential for developing wildlife-friendly...
Abstract Understanding which factors influence the ability of individuals to respond changing temperatures is fundamental species conservation under climate change. We investigated how a community butterflies responded fine‐scale changes in air temperature, and whether species‐specific responses were predicted by ecological or morphological traits. Using data collected across UK reserve network, we 29 butterfly buffer thoracic temperature against temperature. First, tested differences...
Like the spermatozoa of most other fish species spawning in fresh water, Arctic charr Sahelinus alpinus sperm were short‐lived (mean 42 s) after activation and their swimming speed declined rapidly during this period, e.g. from a mean 106 um s −1 at 10 water to 21 μm only 20 later. Ovarian fluid significantly influenced longevity (duration forward mobility), per cent motility, linearity movement. All these variables generally increased as concentration ovarian 0 50%, even though is more than...