Jonathan is a theoretical ecologist with a background in maths and computer science, having formally worked as a software engineer on infrastructure for tackling abuse, and privacy incident response. Jonathan is interested in using models to understand the mechanisms underlying complex community-level patterns in ecology. He also has interests in compassionate conservation, and the intersection between biodiversity and economics.

Research

Thesis title: 'Extending coexistence theory to predict impact of plant invasions on biodiversity'.

Biodiversity is important for human flourishing, and declining worldwide. Invasions by non-native plant species as a result of human activity represent a threat to ecosystems around the world. The mechanisms of invasions are complex, and methods to predict the outcomes and trajectories of invasions are important and lacking. It is recognised that factors such as niche preemption, changes to disturbance regimes, and competitive tradeoffs are important in determining the success of invasions and should be included in models. My research aims to build on existing models of plant invasions, incorporating advances from theoretical community and population ecology, to improve predictions of the dynamics and impacts of future invasions.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor: Jane Catford
• Secondary supervisor: Vincent Jansen (RHUL)

Further details

See Jonathan's research profile