Professor Mike Fowler

Professor

Biosciences

+44 (0) 1792 295443

m.s.fowler@swansea.ac.uk

Academic Office - 100
First Floor
Wallace Building
Singleton Campus

Available For Postgraduate Supervision

Research Links

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1544-0407

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

ResearcherID

About

My research focusses on how species interactions and stochastic environmental variability combine to influence different types of ecological stability and invasive species dynamics. I combine analytical, simulation and statistical modelling approaches to investigate how different forms of environmental variation (spatial and/or temporal) drive changes in populations, always aiming to combine population biology theory with empirical work wherever possible, across a range of study systems.

Recent and ongoing research projects include: (i) investigating eco-evolutionary dynamics and responses to environmental variation in stage-structured populations; (ii) developing our understanding of invasive species and their management; (iii) integrating ecosystem resilience into coastal planning for the persistence of natural flood protection and wetland ecosystem services; (iv) investigating the impacts of environmental variation in simple evolutionary models.

Areas Of Expertise

Complex dynamics
environmental stochasticity
species–environment interactions
species–species interactions.
coloured stochastic processes
spatio-temporal dynamics
data analysis
quantitative approaches

Career Highlights

Award Highlights

2017 Ecological Society of America “Innovations in Sustainability” Award (see Donohue et al 2016, Ecology Letters).

Collaborations

Publications

Research Highlights

Casagrande, B., Sherrard, G., Fowler, M., Estadella, D., & Bueno, A. (2024). Capillary Blood Docosahexaenoic Acid Levels Predict Electrocardiographic Markers in a Sample Population of Premenopausal Women. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(19), 5957
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13195957, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67931
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm13195957
Sharp, S., DAVIDSON, K., Angelini, C., Fischman, H., Pennings, S., Fowler, M., & Griffin, J. (2024). Large grazers suppress a foundational plant and reduce soil carbon concentration in eastern US saltmarshes. Journal of Ecology, 0
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14407, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67530
Li, D., Brough, B., Rees, J., Coste, C., Yuan, C., Fowler, M., & Sait, S. (2024). Humidity modifies species‐specific and age‐dependent heat stress effects in an insect host‐parasitoid interaction. Ecology and Evolution, 14(7), e70047
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70047, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67171
Jones, D., Fowler, M., Hocking, S., & Eastwood, D. (2022). Comparing field-based management approaches for invasive Winter Heliotrope (Petasites pyrenaicus, Asteraceae). NeoBiota, 74, 171-187.
https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.74.82673, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60655
Jones, D., Fowler, M., Hocking, S., & Eastwood, D. (2020). Please don’t mow the Japanese knotweed!. NeoBiota, 60, 19-23.
https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.60.56935, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57976

All Research

Journal Articles

Casagrande, B., Sherrard, G., Fowler, M., Estadella, D., & Bueno, A. (2024). Capillary Blood Docosahexaenoic Acid Levels Predict Electrocardiographic Markers in a Sample Population of Premenopausal Women. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(19), 5957
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13195957, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67931
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm13195957
Sharp, S., DAVIDSON, K., Angelini, C., Fischman, H., Pennings, S., Fowler, M., & Griffin, J. (2024). Large grazers suppress a foundational plant and reduce soil carbon concentration in eastern US saltmarshes. Journal of Ecology, 0
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14407, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67530
Li, D., Brough, B., Rees, J., Coste, C., Yuan, C., Fowler, M., & Sait, S. (2024). Humidity modifies species‐specific and age‐dependent heat stress effects in an insect host‐parasitoid interaction. Ecology and Evolution, 14(7), e70047
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70047, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67171
Jones, D., Fowler, M., Hocking, S., & Eastwood, D. (2022). Comparing field-based management approaches for invasive Winter Heliotrope (Petasites pyrenaicus, Asteraceae). NeoBiota, 74, 171-187.
https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.74.82673, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60655
Rawlings, A., O'Connor, E., Moody, S., Dudley, E., Boddy, L., Fowler, M., Fitzpatrick, D., Doyle, S., & Eastwood, D. (2022). Metabolic responses of two pioneer wood decay fungi to diurnally cycling temperature. Journal of Ecology, 110(1), 68-79.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13716, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57065
De Battisti, D., Berg, M., Walter, B., Fowler, M., & Griffin, J. (2021). Stress-resistance traits disrupt the plant economics - decomposition relationship across environmental gradients in salt marshes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 258, 107391
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107391, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57062
Kiziridis, D., Fowler, M., & Yuan, C. (2020). Modelling fungal competition for space:Towards prediction of community dynamics. Discrete & Continuous Dynamical Systems - B, 22(11), 4411-4426.
https://doi.org/10.3934/dcdsb.2020104, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57829
Kiziridis, D., Boddy, L., Eastwood, D., Yuan, C., & Fowler, M. (2020). Incorporating alternative interaction modes, forbidden links and trait‐based mechanisms increases the minimum trait dimensionality of ecological networks. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11(12), 1663-1672.
https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.13493, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55365
Albini, D., Fowler, M., Llewellyn, C., & Tang, K. (2020). Turning defence into offence? Intrusion of cladoceran brood chambers by a green alga leads to reproductive failure. Royal Society Open Science, 7(9), 200249
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200249, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55072
Jones, D., Fowler, M., Hocking, S., & Eastwood, D. (2020). Please don’t mow the Japanese knotweed!. NeoBiota, 60, 19-23.
https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.60.56935, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57976
De Battisti, D., Fowler, M., Jenkins, S., Skov, M., Bouma, T., Neyland, P., & Griffin, J. (2020). Multiple trait dimensions mediate stress gradient effects on plant biomass allocation, with implications for coastal ecosystem services. Journal of Ecology, 108(4), 1227-1240.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13393, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa57973
Davidson, K., Fowler, M., Skov, M., Forman, D., Alison, J., Botham, M., Beaumont, N., & Griffin, J. (2020). Grazing reduces bee abundance and diversity in saltmarshes by suppressing flowering of key plant species. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 291, 106760
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106760, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52903
Mugabo, M., Gilljam, D., Petteway, L., Yuan, C., Fowler, M., & Sait, S. (2019). Environmental degradation amplifies species' responses to temperature variation in a trophic interaction. Journal of Animal Ecology, 88(11)
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13069, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa50631
Astudillo-Sánchez, C., Fowler, M., Villanueva-Díaz, J., Endara-Agramont, A., & Soria-Díaz, L. (2019). Recruitment and facilitation in Pinus hartwegii, a Mexican alpine treeline ecotone, with potential responses to climate warming. Trees
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01844-3, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa49972
Kolesidis, D., Boddy, L., Eastwood, D., Yuan, C., & Fowler, M. (2019). Predicting fungal community dynamics driven by competition for space. Fungal Ecology, 41, 13-22.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2019.04.003, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa50524
Albini, D., Fowler, M., Llewellyn, C., & Tang, K. (2019). Reversible colony formation and the associated costs in Scenedesmus obliquus. Journal of Plankton Research, 41(4), 419-429.
https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz032, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa51295
Alhadidi, S., Fowler, M., & Griffin, J. (2019). Functional diversity of predators and parasitoids does not explain aphid biocontrol efficiency. BioControl
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-019-09936-2, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa49971
Yang, Q., Fowler, M., Jackson, A., & Donohue, I. (2019). The predictability of ecological stability in a noisy world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(2), 251-259.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0794-x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa48648
Jones, D., Bruce, G., Fowler, M., Law-Cooper, R., Graham, I., Abel, A., Street-Perrott, F., Eastwood, D., & Eastwood, D. (2018). Optimising physiochemical control of invasive Japanese knotweed. Biological Invasions
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1684-5, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa39021
Gilljam, D., Knape, J., Lindén, A., Mugabo, M., Sait, S., & Fowler, M. (2018). The colour of environmental fluctuations associated with terrestrial animal population dynamics. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28(2)
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12824, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa41196
Whitehouse, L. & Fowler, M. (2018). Meta-analysis reveals that fisheries co-management alters socio-economic outcomes and resource well-being. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 600, 127-140.
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12681, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa40966
Alhadidi, S., Griffin, J., & Fowler, M. (2018). Natural enemy composition rather than richness determines pest suppression. BioControl
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-018-9870-z, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa38839
SORIA-DÍAZ, L., Fowler, M., MONROY-VILCHIS, O., & ORO, D. (2018). Functional responses of cougars (Puma concolor) in a multiple prey-species system. Integrative Zoology, 13, 84-93.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12262, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa32098
Fairchild, T., Fowler, M., Pahl, S., & Griffin, J. (2018). Multiple dimensions of biodiversity drive human interest in tide pool communities. Scientific Reports, 8(1)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33155-x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa44770
Davidson, K., Fowler, M., Skov, M., Doerr, S., Beaumont, N., & Griffin, J. (2017). Livestock grazing alters multiple ecosystem properties and services in salt marshes: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 54(5), 1395-1405.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12892, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa32124
Soria-Díaz, L., Fowler, M., & Monroy-Vilchis, O. (2017). Top-down and bottom-up control on cougar and its prey in a central Mexican natural reserve. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 63(5), 73
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-017-1129-y, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa34940
Strayer, D., D'Antonio, C., Essl, F., Fowler, M., Geist, J., Hilt, S., Jarić, I., Jöhnk, K., Jones, C., Lambin, X., Latzka, A., Pergl, J., Pyšek, P., Robertson, P., von Schmalensee, M., Stefansson, R., Wright, J., & Jeschke, J. (2017). Boom-bust dynamics in biological invasions: towards an improved application of the concept. Ecology Letters, 20(10), 1337-1350.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12822, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa34947
Donohue, I., Hillebrand, H., Montoya, J., Petchey, O., Pimm, S., Fowler, M., Healy, K., Jackson, A., Lurgi, M., McClean, D., O'Connor, N., O'Gorman, E., Yang, Q., & Lurgi Rivera, M. (2016). Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. Ecology Letters, 19(9), 1172-1185.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12648, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa29600
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/files/50834411/Donohue_et_al_ELE_FINAL.pdf
Singer, A., Johst, K., Banitz, T., Fowler, M., Groeneveld, J., Gutiérrez, A., Hartig, F., Krug, R., Liess, M., Matlack, G., Meyer, K., Pe’er, G., Radchuk, V., Voinopol-Sassu, A., & Travis, J. (2015). Community dynamics under environmental change: How can next generation mechanistic models improve projections of species distributions?. Ecological Modelling
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.11.007, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa24476
Stenseth, N., Durant, J., Fowler, M., Matthysen, E., Adriaensen, F., Jonzén, N., Chan, K., Liu, H., Laet, J., Sheldon, B., Visser, M., & Dhondt, A. (2015). Testing for effects of climate change on competitive relationships and coexistence between two bird species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1807), 20141958-20141958.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1958, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa20840
Oro, D., Genovart, M., Tavecchia, G., Fowler, M., & Martínez-Abraín, A. (2013). Ecological and evolutionary implications of food subsidies from humans. Ecology Letters, 16(12), 1501-1514.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12187, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa16566
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12187/abstract
Fowler, M. & Ruokolainen, L. (2013). Confounding Environmental Colour and Distribution Shape Leads to Underestimation of Population Extinction Risk. PLoS ONE, 8(2), e55855
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055855, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14224
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055855
Lindén, A., Fowler, M., & Jonzén, N. (2013). Mischaracterising density dependence biases estimated effects of coloured covariates on population dynamics. Population Ecology, 55(1), 183-192.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-012-0347-0, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14225
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10144-012-0347-0
Fowler, M. & Ruokolainen, L. (2013). Colonization, covariance and colour: Environmental and ecological drivers of diversity–stability relationships. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 324-41.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.01.016, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14733
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.01.016
Fowler, M. (2013). The form of direct interspecific competition modifies secondary extinction patterns in multi-trophic food webs. Oikos, 122, 1730-1738.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00346.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa16565
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00346.x/abstract
Fowler, M., Laakso, J., Kaitala, V., Ruokolainen, L., & Ranta, E. (2012). Species dynamics alter community diversity-biomass stability relationships. Ecology Letters, 15(12), 1387-1396.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01862.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13405
Lesbarrères, D., Fowler, M., Pagano, A., & Lodé, T. (2010). Recovery of anuran community diversity following habitat replacement. Journal of Applied Ecology, 47(1), 148-156.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01748.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13409
Fowler, M. (2010). Extinction cascades and the distribution of species interactions. Oikos, 119(5)-873.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17817.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14877
Ruokolainen, L., Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., & Fowler, M. (2009). Community stability under different correlation structures of species’ environmental responses. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 261(3)-387.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.08.010, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14878
Fowler, M. (2009). Density dependent dispersal decisions and the Allee effect. Oikos, 118(4)-614.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17321.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14879
Ruokolainen, L., Lindén, A., Kaitala, V., & Fowler, M. (2009). Ecological and evolutionary dynamics under coloured environmental variation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24(10)-563.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.04.009, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14880
Fowler, M. (2009). Increasing community size and connectance can increase stability in competitive communities. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 258(2)-188.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.01.010, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14881
Ruokolainen, L., Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., & Fowler, M. (2009). When can we distinguish between neutral and non-neutral processes in community dynamics under ecological drift?. Ecology Letters, 12(9), 909-919.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01346.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13406
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01346.x
Ruokolainen, L., Fowler, M., & Fowler, M. (2008). Community extinction patterns in coloured environments. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275(1644), 1775-1783.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0193, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13407
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0193
Ranta, E., Fowler, M., Kaitala, V., & Fowler, M. (2008). Population synchrony in small-world networks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275(1633), 435-442.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.1546, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13408
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.1546
Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., Fowler, M., Laakso, J., Ruokolainen, L., & O'Hara, R. (2008). Detecting compensatory dynamics in competitive communities under environmental forcing. Oikos, 117(12), 1907-1911.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2008.16614.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13412
Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., Fowler, M., Laakso, J., Ruokolainen, L., & O'Hara, R. (2008). The structure and strength of environmental variation modulate covariance patterns. A reply to Houlahan et al. 2008. Oikos, 117(12)-1914.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2008.17314.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14883
Ruokolainen, L., Fowler, M., & Ranta, E. (2007). Extinctions in competitive communities forced by coloured environmental variation. Oikos, 116(3)-448.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2006.0030-1299.15586.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa14884
Fowler, M., Ruokolainen, L., & Fowler, M. (2006). Simple laboratory tests of ecological theories: what we can learn, and when we should be cautious.. Journal of Biosciences, 32, 177-179.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19657
O'Hara, B., Fowler, M., & Johnson, C. (2006). Why negatives should be viewed as positives. Nature, 439(7078), 782-782.
https://doi.org/10.1038/439782a, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19658
Enberg, K., Fowler, M., Ranta, E., & Fowler, M. (2006). The impacts of different management strategies and environmental forcing in ecological communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1600), 2491-2499.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3611, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19655
Fowler, M. & Fowler, M. (2005). Predicting community persistence based on different methods of species ranking.. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 42, 533-543.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19659
Fowler, M. (2005). Interactions between maternal effects and dispersal. Oikos, 110(1), 81-90.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13704.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19660
Kotze, D., Johnson, C., O'Hara, R., Vepsäläinen, K., Fowler, M., & Fowler, M. (2004). Editorial: The Journal of Negative Results in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Negative Results - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 1, 1-5.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19661
FOWLER, M., RUXTON, G., & Fowler, M. (2002). Population Dynamic Consequences of Allee Effects. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 215(1), 39-46.
https://doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.2001.2486, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19662
Fowler, M. & Lindstrom, J. (2002). Extinctions in simple and complex communities. Oikos, 99(3), 511-517.
https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.11757.x, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19663

Book Chapters

Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., Fowler, M., Lindström, J., & Fowler, M. (2007). Environment forcing populations. The Impact of Environmental Variability on Ecological Systems Springer
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa19656

Supervision

&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Advancing Fucoid Spore Transplantation: Understanding Reproductive Traits, Settlement, and Survivorship for Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; (current)

PhD

Other supervisor: Dr John Griffin
Quantifying functional group abundances of intertidal canopy-forming brown macroalgal: combining UAV and satellite imagery with machine learning (current)

MRes

Other supervisor: Dr John Griffin
Loss of Dynamic Stability in a Host-Parasitoid System is Related to the Magnitude and Temporal Scale of Trend in Environmental change (awarded 2024)

MRes

Other supervisor: Prof James Bull

Other supervisor: Mr Christophe Coste
Pili Formation in Filamentous Cyanobacteria (awarded 2023)

MRes

Other supervisor: Dr Nicole Esteban

Other supervisor: Dr Miguel Lurgi Rivera

Taught Modules

BIO261 Population and Community Ecology

This module will introduce students to concepts and basic analytical tools to understand and predict the growth or decline of animal, plant and other populations for: individual species; interacting, multispecies (e.g., predator-prey) communities; and spatial networks connected by dispersal. Students will become familiar with 5 major themes related to ecological dynamics: population growth and density dependence, competition, consumer-resource interactions and spatial processes. Students will develop skills in conceptual thinking and data analysis, using and developing ecological models to predict how populations change over time and space, as well as report writing and presentation skills. Students will learn about how these tools are used in practical situations like conservation and invasive species management. The course will be structured with lectures introducing background information and core concepts being followed by corresponding PC lab sessions where students will gain experience of putting those concepts into practice. An additional workshop session will prepare students for group presentations dealing with classical concepts in population ecology.
BIOM25B Science Skills and Research Methods

This intensive lecture and practical based module covers science skills for students wishing to pursue postgraduate studies, including MSc, MRes, MPhil and PhD degrees. It will teach students how to make good use of library and internet resources (including Web of Science, Canvas and Dryad), to design and analyse their experiments, and to make presentations of their data during conferences and symposia. It will provide PG students in the Department of Biosciences (and other Departments in the Faculty of Science and Engineering) with the research and analytical skills necessary to carry out their research projects. It will teach them how to formulate and test scientific hypotheses, and how to generate and analyse scientific results using a variety of research methods. Lecture topics include Reporting and Presentation skills, Numerical skills and Data Analysis and Scientific Writing. The lectures are taught during the first part of the Semester. The module is examined through a combination of Continuous Assessment (90%) and an online examination in the form of a MCQ test (10%). Basic reading: Whitlock, M. and Schluter, D. (2014) The Analysis of Biological Data (Roberts & Co.). Crawley, M.J. (2005) Statistics: An Introduction Using R (Wiley). Original research papers given in reading list and found through self-directed learning.

Key Grants and Projects

Interactions between sources of environmental change: How do resource quality and coloured environments drive multi-trophic eco-evolutionary dynamics? 2016 - 2019

PI, NERC Standard Grant, £857,051
RESILCOAST: Integrating ecosystem resilience into coastal planning for the persistence of natural flood protection and wetland ecosystem services 2014 - 2018

Co-I, National Research Network for Low Carbon Energy & Environment, with Dr John Griffin, £566,736

Career History

JAE-Doc Research Fellow, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats, Mallorca, Spain

2009 - 2012
Research Fellow, University of Helsinki, Finland

2002 - 2009

Professor Mike Fowler

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Research Highlights

All Research

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

Supervision

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Advancing Fucoid Spore Transplantation: Understanding Reproductive Traits, Settlement, and Survivorship for Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; (current)

Quantifying functional group abundances of intertidal canopy-forming brown macroalgal: combining UAV and satellite imagery with machine learning (current)

Loss of Dynamic Stability in a Host-Parasitoid System is Related to the Magnitude and Temporal Scale of Trend in Environmental change (awarded 2024)

Pili Formation in Filamentous Cyanobacteria (awarded 2023)

Taught Modules

BIO261 Population and Community Ecology

BIOM25B Science Skills and Research Methods

Key Grants and Projects

Interactions between sources of environmental change: How do resource quality and coloured environments drive multi-trophic eco-evolutionary dynamics? 2016 - 2019

RESILCOAST: Integrating ecosystem resilience into coastal planning for the persistence of natural flood protection and wetland ecosystem services 2014 - 2018

Career History

JAE-Doc Research Fellow, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats, Mallorca, Spain

Research Fellow, University of Helsinki, Finland

&amp;amp;amp;quot;Advancing Fucoid Spore Transplantation: Understanding Reproductive Traits, Settlement, and Survivorship for Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration&amp;amp;amp;quot; (current)