Dr Dylan Childs

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Senior Lecturer

d.childs@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 4313

C206, Alfred Denny Building

Full contact details

Dr Dylan Childs
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences
C206
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN

Profile

Lecturer, Sheffield University (2016-present)
NERC Research Fellow, Sheffield University (2008-2016)
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Sheffield University (2006-2008)
Welcome Funded PDRA, Sheffield University (2005-2006)
Equities Trader, Circe Trading (2003-2005)
PhD Population Biology, Imperial College (1999-2003)

Research interests: I am a population biologist with interests at both the pure and applied ends of the spectrum. I follow an interdisciplinary approach, developing data-driven models to understand population dynamics and natural selection in laboratory and free-living animal and plant populations. I am particularly keen to understand how demographic, environmental and ecological processes interact to influence these processes. I also develop theory and methods for modelling and analysis of structured populations.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Featured publications

Books

Beckerman AP, Petchey OL & Childs DZ (2017) Getting Started with R: An Introduction for Biologists. Oxford University Press.
Ellner SP, Childs DZ & Rees M (2016) Data-driven Modelling of Structured Populations: A Practical Guide to the Integral Projection Model. Springer.

Journal articles

Cordes LS, Blumstein DT, Armitage KB, CaraDonna PJ, Childs DZ, Gerber BD, Martin JGA, Oli MK & Ozgul A (2020) Contrasting effects of climate change on seasonal survival of a hibernating mammal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(30), 18119-18126. View this article in WRRO
Griffiths JI, Childs D, Bassar RD, Coulson T, Reznick DN & Rees M (2020) Individual differences determine the strength of ecological interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 117(29), 17068-17073. View this article in WRRO
Jackson J, Mar KU, Htut W, Childs DZ & Lummaa V (2020) Changes in age‐structure over four decades were a key determinant of population growth rate in a long‐lived mammal. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
Comont D, Lowe C, Hull R, Crook L, Hicks HL, Onkokesung N, Beffa R, Childs DZ, Edwards R, Freckleton RP & Neve P (2020) Evolution of generalist resistance to herbicide mixtures reveals a trade-off in resistance management. Nature Communications, 11(1). View this article in WRRO
Paniw M, Childs DZ, Armitage KB, Blumstein DT, Martin JGA, Oli MK & Ozgul A (2020) Assessing seasonal demographic covariation to understand environmental‐change impacts on a hibernating mammal. Ecology Letters, 23(4), 588-597. View this article in WRRO
Varah A, Ahodo K, Coutts SR, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP & Norris K (2020) The costs of human-induced evolution in an agricultural system. Nature Sustainability, 3(1), 63-71. View this article in WRRO
Hindle BJ, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM & Childs DZ (2019) Cumulative weather effects can impact across the whole life cycle. Global Change Biology, 25(10), 3282-3293. View this article in WRRO
Jackson J, Childs DZ, Mar KU, Htut W & Lummaa V (2019) Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants.. Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 286(1899). View this article in WRRO
Comont D, Hicks H, Crook L, Hull R, Cocciantelli E, Hadfield J, Childs D, Freckleton R & Neve P (2019) Evolutionary epidemiology predicts the emergence of glyphosate resistance in a major agricultural weed. New Phytologist. View this article in WRRO
Hindle BJ, Rees M, Sheppard AW, Quintana-Ascencio PF, Menges ES & Childs DZ (2018) Exploring population responses to environmental change when there is never enough data: a factor analytic approach. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(11), 2283-2293. View this article in WRRO
Maldonado‐Chaparro AA, Blumstein DT, Armitage KB & Childs DZ (2018) Transient LTRE analysis reveals the demographic and trait‐mediated processes that buffer population growth. Ecology Letters, 21(11), 1693-1703. View this article in WRRO
Salguero‐Gómez R, Violle C, Gimenez O & Childs D (2018) Delivering the promises of trait‐based approaches to the needs of demographic approaches, and vice versa. Functional Ecology, 32(6), 1424-1435. View this article in WRRO
Hicks HL, Comont D, Coutts SR, Crook L, Hull R, Norris K, Neve P, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2018) The factors driving evolved herbicide resistance at a national scale. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2, 529-536. View this article in WRRO
Griffiths JI, Petchey OL, Pennekamp F & Childs DZ (2018) Linking intraspecific trait variation to community abundance dynamics improves ecological predictability by revealing a growth-defence trade-off. Functional Ecology, 32(2), 496-508. View this article in WRRO
Freckleton RP, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P & Childs DZ (2017) Measuring the effectiveness of management interventions at regional scales by integrating ecological monitoring and modelling. Pest Management Science. View this article in WRRO
Booton RD, Iwasa Y, Marshall JAR & Childs DZ (2017) Stress-Mediated Allee Effects Can Cause the Sudden Collapse of Honey Bee Colonies.. J Theor Biol. View this article in WRRO
Childs DZ, Sheldon BC & Rees M (2016) The evolution of labile traits in sex- and age-structured populations. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85(2), 329-342. View this article in WRRO
Bassar RD, Childs DZ, Rees M, Tuljapurkar S, Reznick DN & Coulson T (2016) The effects of asymmetric competition on the life history of Trinidadian guppies. Ecology Letters, 19(3), 268-278. View this article in WRRO
Metcalf CJE, Graham AL, Martinez-Bakker M & Childs DZ (2016) Opportunities and challenges of Integral Projection Models for modelling host-parasite dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85(2), 343-355. View this article in WRRO
Metcalf CJE, Ellner SP, Childs DZ, Salguero-Gómez R, Merow C, McMahon SM, Jongejans E & Rees M (2015) Statistical modelling of annual variation for inference on stochastic population dynamics using Integral Projection Models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 6(9), 1007-1017.
Griffiths JI, Warren PH & Childs DZ (2015) Multiple environmental changes interact to modify species dynamics and invasion rates. Oikos, 124(4), 458-468.
Rees M, Childs DZ & Ellner SP (2014) Building integral projection models: a user's guide.. J Anim Ecol, 83(3), 528-545. View this article in WRRO
Rees M, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2012) Assessing the role of competition and stress: A critique of importance indices and the development of a new approach. Journal of Ecology, 100(3), 577-585.
Coulson T, Tuljapurkar S & Childs DZ (2010) Using evolutionary demography to link life history theory, quantitative genetics and population ecology.. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
Ozgul A, Childs DZ, Oli MK, Armitage KB, Blumstein DT, Olson LE, Tuljapurkar S & Coulson T (2010) Coupled dynamics of body mass and population growth in response to environmental change. NATURE, 466(7305), 482-U5. View this article in WRRO

All publications

Books

Beckerman A, Childs D & Petchey O (2017) Getting Started with R. Oxford University Press.
Beckerman AP, Petchey OL & Childs DZ (2017) Getting Started with R: An Introduction for Biologists. Oxford University Press.
Ellner SP, Childs DZ & Rees M (2016) Data-driven Modelling of Structured Populations: A Practical Guide to the Integral Projection Model. Springer.

Journal articles

Paniw M, James TD, Ruth Archer C, Römer G, Levin S, Compagnoni A, Che-Castaldo J, Bennett JM, Mooney A, Childs DZ , Ozgul A et al (2021) The myriad of complex demographic responses of terrestrial mammals to climate change and gaps of knowledge: A global analysis.. J Anim Ecol.
Goodsell RM, Childs DZ, Spencer M, Coutts S, Vergnon R, Swinfield T, Queenborough SA & Freckleton RP (2021) Developing hierarchical density‐structured models to study the national‐scale dynamics of an arable weed. Ecological Monographs. View this article in WRRO
Compagnoni A, Levin S, Childs DZ, Harpole S, Paniw M, Römer G, Burns JH, Che-Castaldo J, Rüger N, Kunstler G , Bennett JM et al (2021) Herbaceous perennial plants with short generation time have stronger responses to climate anomalies than those with longer generation time. Nature Communications, 12(1).
Coutts SR, Quintana‐Ascencio PF, Menges ES, Salguero‐Gómez R & Childs DZ (2021) Fine‐scale spatial variation in fitness is comparable to disturbance‐induced fluctuations in a fire‐adapted species. Ecology.
Hicks H, Lambert J, Pywell R, Hulmes L, Hulmes S, Walker K, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2021) Characterizing the environmental drivers of the abundance and distribution of Alopecurus myosuroides on a national scale. Pest Management Science.
Comont D, Lowe C, Hull R, Crook L, Hicks HL, Onkokesung N, Beffa R, Childs DZ, Edwards R, Freckleton RP & Neve P (2020) Publisher Correction: Evolution of generalist resistance to herbicide mixtures reveals a trade-off in resistance management. Nature Communications, 11(1).
Layton‐Matthews K, Grøtan V, Hansen BB, Loonen MJJE, Fuglei E & Childs DZ (2020) Environmental change reduces body condition, but not population growth, in a high‐arctic herbivore. Ecology Letters.
Kunstler G, Guyennon A, Ratcliffe S, Rüger N, Ruiz‐Benito P, Childs DZ, Dahlgren J, Lehtonen A, Thuiller W, Wirth C , Zavala MA et al (2020) ‘Demographic performance of European tree species at their hot and cold climatic edges’. Journal of Ecology.
James TD, Salguero‐Gómez R, Jones OR, Childs DZ & Beckerman AP (2020) Bridging gaps in demographic analysis with phylogenetic imputation. Conservation Biology.
Cordes LS, Blumstein DT, Armitage KB, CaraDonna PJ, Childs DZ, Gerber BD, Martin JGA, Oli MK & Ozgul A (2020) Contrasting effects of climate change on seasonal survival of a hibernating mammal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(30), 18119-18126. View this article in WRRO
Griffiths JI, Childs D, Bassar RD, Coulson T, Reznick DN & Rees M (2020) Individual differences determine the strength of ecological interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 117(29), 17068-17073. View this article in WRRO
Jackson J, Mar KU, Htut W, Childs DZ & Lummaa V (2020) Changes in age‐structure over four decades were a key determinant of population growth rate in a long‐lived mammal. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
Comont D, Lowe C, Hull R, Crook L, Hicks HL, Onkokesung N, Beffa R, Childs DZ, Edwards R, Freckleton RP & Neve P (2020) Evolution of generalist resistance to herbicide mixtures reveals a trade-off in resistance management. Nature Communications, 11(1). View this article in WRRO
Lynsdale CL, Mon NO, Franco Dos Santos DJ, Aung HH, Nyein UK, Htut W, Childs D & Lummaa V (2020) Demographic and reproductive associations with nematode infection in a long-lived mammal.. Scientific Reports, 10(1). View this article in WRRO
Paniw M, Childs DZ, Armitage KB, Blumstein DT, Martin JGA, Oli MK & Ozgul A (2020) Assessing seasonal demographic covariation to understand environmental‐change impacts on a hibernating mammal. Ecology Letters, 23(4), 588-597. View this article in WRRO
Edmondson JL, Childs DZ, Dobson MC, Gaston KJ, Warren PH & Leake JR (2020) Feeding a city – Leicester as a case study of the importance of allotments for horticultural production in the UK. Science of The Total Environment, 705. View this article in WRRO
Smith AL, Hodkinson TR, Villellas J, Catford JA, Csergő AM, Blomberg SP, Crone EE, Ehrlén J, Garcia MB, Laine A-L , Roach DA et al (2020) Global gene flow releases invasive plants from environmental constraints on genetic diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(8), 4218-4227. View this article in WRRO
Che-Castaldo J, Jones OR, Kendall BE, Burns JH, Childs DZ, Ezard THG, Hernandez-Yanez H, Hodgson DJ, Jongejans E, Knight T , Merow C et al (2020) Comments to “Persistent problems in the construction of matrix population models”. Ecological Modelling, 416, 108913-108913.
Varah A, Ahodo K, Coutts SR, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P, Childs DZ, Freckleton RP & Norris K (2020) The costs of human-induced evolution in an agricultural system. Nature Sustainability, 3(1), 63-71. View this article in WRRO
Hindle BJ, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM & Childs DZ (2019) Cumulative weather effects can impact across the whole life cycle. Global Change Biology, 25(10), 3282-3293. View this article in WRRO
Lambert JPT, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2019) Testing the ability of Unmanned Aerial Systems and machine learning to map weeds at subfield scales: a test with the weed Alopecurus myosuroides (Huds).. Pest Management Science. View this article in WRRO
Jackson J, Childs DZ, Mar KU, Htut W & Lummaa V (2019) Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants.. Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 286(1899). View this article in WRRO
Comont D, Hicks H, Crook L, Hull R, Cocciantelli E, Hadfield J, Childs D, Freckleton R & Neve P (2019) Evolutionary epidemiology predicts the emergence of glyphosate resistance in a major agricultural weed. New Phytologist. View this article in WRRO
Booton RD, Iwasa Y & Childs DZ (2018) How do toxicants affect epidemiological dynamics?. Oikos. View this article in WRRO
Hindle BJ, Rees M, Sheppard AW, Quintana-Ascencio PF, Menges ES & Childs DZ (2018) Exploring population responses to environmental change when there is never enough data: a factor analytic approach. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(11), 2283-2293. View this article in WRRO
Maldonado‐Chaparro AA, Blumstein DT, Armitage KB & Childs DZ (2018) Transient LTRE analysis reveals the demographic and trait‐mediated processes that buffer population growth. Ecology Letters, 21(11), 1693-1703. View this article in WRRO
Bearup DJ, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2018) Funder Restrictions on Application Numbers Lead to Chaos. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(8), 565-568. View this article in WRRO
Salguero‐Gómez R, Violle C, Gimenez O & Childs D (2018) Delivering the promises of trait‐based approaches to the needs of demographic approaches, and vice versa. Functional Ecology, 32(6), 1424-1435. View this article in WRRO
Booton RD, Yamaguchi R, Marshall JAR, Childs DZ & Iwasa Y (2018) Interactions between immunotoxicants and parasite stress: Implications for host health. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 445, 120-127. View this article in WRRO
Heather FJ, Childs DZ, Darnaude AM & Blanchard JL (2018) Using an integral projection model to assess the effect of temperature on the growth of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata. PLoS ONE, 13(5). View this article in WRRO
Hicks HL, Comont D, Coutts SR, Crook L, Hull R, Norris K, Neve P, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2018) The factors driving evolved herbicide resistance at a national scale. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2, 529-536. View this article in WRRO
Griffiths JI, Petchey OL, Pennekamp F & Childs DZ (2018) Linking intraspecific trait variation to community abundance dynamics improves ecological predictability by revealing a growth-defence trade-off. Functional Ecology, 32(2), 496-508. View this article in WRRO
Lambert JPT, Hicks HL, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2018) Evaluating the potential of Unmanned Aerial Systems for mapping weeds at field scales: a case study with Alopecurus myosuroides. Weed Research, 58(1), 35-45. View this article in WRRO
Neve P, Barney JN, Buckley Y, Cousens RD, Graham S, Jordan NR, Lawton-Rauh A, Liebman M, Mesgaran MB, Schut M , Shaw J et al (2018) Reviewing research priorities in weed ecology, evolution and management: a horizon scan. Weed Research, 58(4), 250-258. View this article in WRRO
Freckleton RP, Hicks HL, Comont D, Crook L, Hull R, Neve P & Childs DZ (2017) Measuring the effectiveness of management interventions at regional scales by integrating ecological monitoring and modelling. Pest Management Science. View this article in WRRO
Booton RD, Iwasa Y, Marshall JAR & Childs DZ (2017) Stress-Mediated Allee Effects Can Cause the Sudden Collapse of Honey Bee Colonies.. J Theor Biol. View this article in WRRO
Jordan N, Schut M, Graham S, Barney JN, Childs DZ, Christensen S, Cousens RD, Davis AS, Eizenberg H, Ervin DE , Fernandez-Quintanilla C et al (2016) Transdisciplinary weed research: new leverage on challenging weed problems?. Weed Research, 56(5), 345-358. View this article in WRRO
Liebman M, Baraibar B, Buckley Y, Childs D, Christensen S, Cousens R, Eizenberg H, Heijting S, Loddo D, Merotto A , Renton M et al (2016) Ecologically sustainable weed management: How do we get from proof-of-concept to adoption?. Ecological Applications, 26(5), 1352-1369.
Childs DZ, Sheldon BC & Rees M (2016) The evolution of labile traits in sex- and age-structured populations. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85(2), 329-342. View this article in WRRO
Beckerman AP, Childs DZ & Bergland AO (2016) Eco-evolutionary Biology: Feeding and Feedback Loops. Current Biology, 26(4), R161-R164.
Bassar RD, Childs DZ, Rees M, Tuljapurkar S, Reznick DN & Coulson T (2016) The effects of asymmetric competition on the life history of Trinidadian guppies. Ecology Letters, 19(3), 268-278. View this article in WRRO
Metcalf CJE, Graham AL, Martinez-Bakker M & Childs DZ (2016) Opportunities and challenges of Integral Projection Models for modelling host-parasite dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85(2), 343-355. View this article in WRRO
Metcalf CJE, Ellner SP, Childs DZ, Salguero-Gómez R, Merow C, McMahon SM, Jongejans E & Rees M (2015) Statistical modelling of annual variation for inference on stochastic population dynamics using Integral Projection Models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 6(9), 1007-1017.
Petchey OL, Pontarp M, Massie TM, Kéfi S, Ozgul A, Weilenmann M, Palamara GM, Altermatt F, Matthews B, Levine JM , Childs DZ et al (2015) The ecological forecast horizon, and examples of its uses and determinants. Ecology Letters, 18(7), 597-611. View this article in WRRO
Griffiths JI, Warren PH & Childs DZ (2015) Multiple environmental changes interact to modify species dynamics and invasion rates. Oikos, 124(4), 458-468.
Merow C, Dahlgren JP, Metcalf CJE, Childs DZ, Evans MEK, Jongejans E, Record S, Rees M, Salguero-Gómez R & Mcmahon SM (2014) Advancing population ecology with integral projection models: A practical guide. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 5(2), 99-110.
Palamara GM, Childs DZ, Clements CF, Petchey OL, Plebani M & Smith MJ (2014) Inferring the temperature dependence of population parameters: the effects of experimental design and inference algorithm. Ecology and Evolution, 4(24), 4736-4750. View this article in WRRO
Rees M, Childs DZ & Ellner SP (2014) Building integral projection models: a user's guide.. J Anim Ecol, 83(3), 528-545. View this article in WRRO
Fisher JP, Phoenix GK, Childs DZ, Press MC, Smith SW, Pilkington MG & Cameron DD (2013) Parasitic plant litter input: a novel indirect mechanism influencing plant community structure.. New Phytol, 198(1), 222-231.
Wood MJ, Davies AS, Hellgren O, Cornwallis CK, Perrins CM, Sheldon BC & Childs DZ (2013) The epidemiology underlying age-related avian malaria infection in a long-lived host: The mute swan Cygnus olor. Journal of Avian Biology.
Rees M, Childs DZ & Freckleton RP (2012) Assessing the role of competition and stress: A critique of importance indices and the development of a new approach. Journal of Ecology, 100(3), 577-585.
Coulson T, Tuljapurkar S & Childs DZ (2010) Using evolutionary demography to link life history theory, quantitative genetics and population ecology.. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
Ozgul A, Childs DZ, Oli MK, Armitage KB, Blumstein DT, Olson LE, Tuljapurkar S & Coulson T (2010) Coupled dynamics of body mass and population growth in response to environmental change. NATURE, 466(7305), 482-U5. View this article in WRRO
Childs DZ, Metcalf CJE & Rees M (2010) Evolutionary bet-hedging in the real world: empirical evidence and challenges revealed by plants.. Proc Biol Sci, 277(1697), 3055-3064.
Rees M, Jessica C, Metcalf E & Childs DZ (2010) Bet-hedging as an evolutionary game: the trade-off between egg size and number.. Proc Biol Sci, 277(1685), 1149-1151.
Childs DZ & Boots M (2010) The interaction of seasonal forcing and immunity and the resonance dynamics of malaria.. J R Soc Interface, 7(43), 309-319. View this article in WRRO
Boots M, Childs D, Reuman DC & Mealor M (2009) Local interactions lead to pathogen-driven change to host population dynamics.. Curr Biol, 19(19), 1660-1664.
Rees M, Metcalf CJE & Childs DZ (2009) WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: RECONCILING MODELS, DATA, AND ANALYSIS. ISR J ECOL EVOL, 55(3), 227-231.
Metcalf CJE, Rose KE, Childs DZ, Sheppard AW, Grubb PJ & Rees M (2008) Evolution of flowering decisions in a stochastic, density-dependent environment. P NATL ACAD SCI USA, 105(30), 10466-10470.
Coulson T, Ezard THG, Pelletier F, Tavecchia G, Stenseth NC, Childs DZ, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM, Kruuk LEB, Clutton-Brock TH & Crawley MJ (2008) Estimating the functional form for the density dependence from life history data. ECOLOGY, 89(6), 1661-1674.
Rees M, Childs DZ, Rose KE & Grubb PJ (2004) Evolution of size-dependent flowering in a variable environment: partitioning the effects of fluctuating selection. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 271(1538), 471-475.
Childs DZ, Bonsall MB & Rees M (2004) Periodic local disturbance in host–parasitoid metapopulations: host suppression and parasitoid persistence. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 227(1), 13-23.
Childs DZ, Rees M, Rose KE, Grubb PJ & Ellner SP (2004) Evolution of size–dependent flowering in a variable environment: construction and analysis of a stochastic integral projection model. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 271(1537), 425-434.
Childs DZ, Rees M, Rose KE, Grubb PJ & Ellner SP (2003) Evolution of complex flowering strategies: an age– and size–structured integral projection model. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 270(1526), 1829-1838.
Radcliffe P, Hirata D, Childs D, Vardy L & Toda T (1998) Identification of Novel Temperature-sensitive Lethal Alleles in Essential β-Tubulin and Nonessential α2-Tubulin Genes as Fission Yeast Polarity Mutants. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 9(7), 1757-1771.
Boots M, Childs D, Crossmore J, Tidbury H & Rudolf V () Experimental evidence that local interactions select against selfish behaviour. Ecology Letters.
Samplonius JM, Atkinson A, Hassall C, Keogan K, Thackeray SJ, Assmann JJ, Burgess MD, Johansson J, Macphie KH, Pearce-Higgins JW , Simmonds EG et al () Strengthening the evidence base for temperature-mediated phenological asynchrony and its impacts. Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Booton RD, Yamaguchi R, Marshall JAR, Childs DZ & Iwasa Y () Interactions between immunotoxicants and parasite stress: implications for host health.
Paniw M, James T, Archer CR, Römer G, Levin S, Compagnoni A, Che-Castaldo J, Bennett JM, Mooney A, Childs DZ , Ozgul A et al () Global analysis reveals complex demographic responses of mammals to climate change. View this article in WRRO

Chapters

Hayward AD, Garnier R, Childs DZ, Grenfell BT, Watt KA, Pilkington JG, Pemberton JM & Graham AL (2019) From population to individual host scale and back again: testing theories of infection and defence in the Soay sheep of St Kilda, Wildlife Disease Ecology (pp. 91-128). Cambridge University Press

Research group

PhD students

Simran Aujla
Ross Booton
Robert Goodsell (with Professor R Freckleton)
Erika Hansson (with Dr AP Beckerman)
Bethan Hindle (with Dr AP Beckerman)
John Jackson (with Dr V Lummaa)
James Lambert (with Professor R Freckleton)
Simon Rolph (with Professor R Freckleton and Dr R Salguero-Gomez)

Postdoctoral Researchers

Alison Parton
Dr Shaun Coutts

Teaching activities

My approach to teaching and supervision of students is to convey my enthusiasm for population biology and evolutionary ecology, and to use research-led, biologically interesting examples to give students a thorough grounding in key concepts. I strongly believe that learning the basic tools for independent research is essential for undergraduate students, and I always encourage my students to try new methods of data analysis and quantitative reasoning. I am a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, having completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching.

I have led the devlopment of the new data science strand of our curriculum. At level 1, I co-ordinate the introduction to exploratory data analysis component of APS135 (Skills for Biologists 1). In this course we introduce students to the R programming language, a cutting edge data visualisation and statistical analysis environment. We build on this knowledge in APS240 (Data Analysis), using R to explore the principles of environmental design and analysis of biological data. I also contribute to APS342 (Evolutionary Ecology).

My part of the course focuses on the evolution of host-parasite interactions and the mechanisms of life history evolution in stochastic environments. At the postgraduate level, I co-teach our Advanced Biological Analysis module (APS405), a week long intensive training module for MBiolSci, MRes and PhD students. This module introduces advanced statistical tools and a workflow for presenting the results of research. I also supervise level 3 (APS330) and masters (APS406 and our MRes) Projects. These projects reflect my broad interests in how ecological processes shape natural selection and population dynamics. Students interested in these research areas are welcome to contact me to discuss project ideas.