Ecological function in modified landscapes

The future conservation of many plants and animals depends on their ability to persist in modified landscapes. Human activities not only have direct impacts on species (e.g. through habitat loss or climate change) but also change the way in which species interact with each other and the environment. A wide array of our research investigates such changes in ecological function in modified landscapes, such as:

• interactions between species and how this affects processes such as pollination, predation, herbivory and parasitism
• the role of ‘keystone species’ and ‘ecosystem engineers’ in structuring communities
• the genetic structure of populations
• environmental microbiology and the role of microbiota in shaping environmental outcomes
• behavioural and physiological responses of animals to landscape change, and
• changes in physical processes, such as groundwater recharge and hydrological flows.

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