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Academic

Dr Richard Davies

Richard Davies
Job Title Contact Location
Lecturer in Biodiversity  Richard dot G dot Davies at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 2778   		Biology 01.51 
  • Personal
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Publications
  • External
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Career

  • B.Sc. - Zoology, University College London (1985)
  • Ph.D. - Biology, The Natural History Museum, London & University College London (2001)
  • NERC Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London (2001-2002)
  • NERC Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sheffield (2003-2006)
  • EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sheffield (2006-2007)
  • Lecturer in Biodiversity, University of East Anglia (2007-present)

Key Research Interests

My research interests are in the evolutionary and ecological determinants of biodiversity distribution at different spatial scales, from local to global, and how understanding of pattern and process can inform conservation policy. Environmental gradients of interest include energy availability, climatic stability, habitat complexity and heterogeneity. Human impacts I focus on include local-scale habitat disturbance and fragmentation through to large-scale influences of human population density and climate change. In addition to studying the distribution of species numbers, I am interested in using alternative biodiversity metrics such as functional diversity to better understand the functional contributions of species to communities. I work on a variety of taxa including insects and birds. My research spans local field studies as well as analyses of landscape-scale and macroecological data. While current projects are mainly large-scale and using existing data, future plans include field-based studies aimed at understanding species environmental tolerances, local drivers of community functional structure, and the influence of these and other factors on occupancy of species geographical ranges.

Current Research Projects

  • Ecological and evolutionary mechanisms for biodiversity distribution
  • Anthropogenic environmental gradients and conservation biology
  • Functional diversity and community assembly


Life in our research group 

Research undertaken under my supervision is focused on understanding the environmental determinants of biodiversity distribution at different spatial scales. We are especially interested in using species level ecological and morphological trait data to explore the functional significance of changes in biodiversity distribution across space and time. We currently work with colleagues at the British Trust for Ornithology on the functional ecology of wintering wading bird communities across UK estuaries, and are looking to establish further such collaborative projects with conservation organisations. At continental and global scales we use available vertebrate species distributional range map data, including that of the Avian Diversity Hotspots Consortium, and high-resolution environmental datasets. Analytical tools we use include GIS and spatial statistical methods, including methods to account for spatial autocorrelation. The group is part of a dynamic research community at UEA including the Organisms and Environment research theme within School of Biological Sciences (http://www.uea.ac.uk/bio/bioresearch/eeb) and the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CEEC) which brings together ecologists and conservation biologists from School of Biological Sciences and School of Environmental Sciences.

PhD Positions

Please email me to discuss PhD opportunities and projects within the School of Biological Sciences.

Postdocs & Fellows 

I am always happy to discuss possibilities for post-doctoral research projects, collaborations and funding applications.



Teaching Activities

  • Community, Ecosystem and Macro-ecology (BIO-2B26)
  • Biodiversity (BIO-1A03)
  • Ecology Field-course (BIO-2B21)
  • Science Communication (BIO-3C6Y)
  • Skills for Biologists (BIO-1A4Y)
  • Multivariate Statistics (BIO-M513)
  • Supervision of BSc Biology/Ecology and MSc Applied Ecology & Conservation dissertation projects
Jump to: Article | Book Section
Number of items: 30.

Article

Mendez, V, Gill, JA, Burton, NHK, Austin, GE, Petchey, OL and Davies, RG (2012) Functional diversity across space and time: trends in wader communities on British estuaries. Diversity and Distributions. no-no. ISSN 13669516 (In Press)

Sandel, B, Arge, L, Dalsgaard, B, Davies, RG, Gaston, KJ, Sutherland, WJ and Svenning, J-C (2011) The Influence of Late Quaternary Climate-Change Velocity on Species Endemism. Science, 334 (6056). pp. 660-664. ISSN 0036-8075

Inward, DJG, Davies, RG, Pergande, C, Denham, AJ and Vogler, AP (2011) Local and regional ecological morphology of dung beetle assemblages across four biogeographic regions. Journal of Biogeography. no-no. ISSN 03050270

Strassburg, BBN, Kelly, A, Balmford, A, Davies, RG, Gibbs, HK, Lovett, A, Miles, L, Orme, CDL, Price, J, Turner, RK and Rodrigues, ASL (2010) Global congruence of carbon storage and biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. Conservation Letters, 3 (2). pp. 98-105. ISSN 1755263X

Davies, Richard, Irlich, Ulrike M., Chown, Steven L. and Gaston, Kevin J. (2010) Ambient, productive and wind energy, and ocean extent predict global species richness of procellariiform seabirds. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19 (1). pp. 98-110. ISSN 1466822X

Olson, V.A., Davies, R.G., Orme, C.D.L., Thomas, G.H., Meiri, S., Blackburn, T.M., Gaston, K.J., Owens, I.P.F. and Bennett, P.M. (2009) Global biogeography and ecology of body size in birds. Ecology Letters, 12. pp. 249-259.

Davies, RG, Barbosa, O, Fuller, R, Tratalos, J, Burke, N, Lewis, D, Warren, PH and Gaston, KJ (2008) City-wide relationships between green spaces, urban land use and topography. Urban Ecosystems, 11 (3). pp. 269-287.

Thomas, G.H., Orme, C.D.L., Davies, R.G., Olson, V.A., Bennet, P.M., Gaston, K.J., Owens, I.P.F. and Blackburn, T.M. (2008) Regional variation in the historical components of global avian species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 17. pp. 340-351.

Barbosa, O., Tratalos, J.A., Armsworth, P.R., Davies, R.G., Fuller, F.A., Johnson, P.A. and Gaston, K.J. (2007) Who benefits from access to urban green space? Landscape & Urban Planning, 83. pp. 187-195.

Davies, R. G., Owens, I. P. F., Blackburn, T. M. and Gaston, K. J. (2007) Topography, temperature and the global distribution of bird species richness. Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 274 (1614). pp. 1189-1197. ISSN 0962-8452

Davies, R.G., Orme, C.D.L., Webster, A.J., Jones, K.E., Blackburn, T.M. and Gaston, K.J. (2007) Environmental predictors of global parrot (Aves: Psittaciformes) species richness and phylogenetic diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 16. pp. 220-233.

Davies, R.G.., Orme, C.D.L., Olson, V., Thomas, G.H., Ross, S.G., Ding, T.-S., Rasmussen, P.C., Ridgely, R.S., Stattersfield, A.J., Bennett, P.M., Owens, I.P.F., Blackburn, T.M. and Gaston, K.J. (2007) Topography, energy and the global distribution of bird species richness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 274. pp. 1189-1197.

Dormann, C.F., Bierman, S.M., McPherson, J.M., Araujo, M.B., Bivand, R., Bolliger, J., Carl, G., Davies, R.G., hirzel, A., Jetz, W., Kissling, W.D., Kuhm, I., Ohlemuller, R., Peres-Neto, P.R., Reineking, B., Schroder, B., Schurr, F.M. and Wilson, R. (2007) Methods to account for spatial autocorrelation in the analysis of species distributional data: a review. Ecography, 30. pp. 609-628.

Gaston, K.J., Davies, R.G., Orme, C.D.L., Olson, V., Thomas, G.H., Bennett, P.M., Owens, I.P.F. and Blackburn, T.M. (2007) Spatial turnover in the global avifauna. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 274. pp. 1567-1574.

Phillimore, A., Orme, C.D.L., Davies, R.G., Hadfield, J., Freckleton, R., Gaston, K.J. and Owens, I.P.F. (2007) Biogeographical basis of recent phenotypic divergence among birds: A global study of subspecies richness. Evolution, 61. pp. 942-957.

Tratalos, J., Fuller, R., Evans, K.L., Davies, R.G., Newson, S., Greenwood, J.J.D. and Gaston, K.J. (2007) Urban bird densities are associated with household densities. Global Change Biology, 13. pp. 1685-1695.

Tratalos, J., Fuller, R., Warren, P.H., Davies, R.G. and Gaston, K.J. (2007) Urban form, biodiversity potential and ecosystem services. Landscape & Urban Planning, 83. pp. 308-317.

Davies, R.G., Orme, C.D.L., Olson, V., Thomas, G.H., Ross, S.G., Ding, T.-S., Rasmussen, P.C., Stattersfield, A.J., Bennett, P.M., Blackburn, T.M., Owens, I.P.F. and Gaston, K.J. (2006) Human impacts and the global distribution of extinction risk. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 273 (1614). pp. 2127-2133. ISSN 0962-8452

Grenyer, R., Orme, C.D.L., Jackson, S.F., Thomas, G.H., Davies, R.G., Davies, J., Jones, K.E., Olson, V., Phillimore, A.B., Ridgely, R.S., Rasmussen, P.C., Tzung-Su Ding, Bennett, P.M., Blackburn, T.M., Gaston, K.J., Gittelman and J.L., Owens (2006) The global distribution and conservation of vertebrates. Nature, 444. pp. 93-96.

Jones, D.T., Davies, R.G. and Eggleton, P. (2006) Sampling termites in forest habitats: a reply to Roisin and Leponce. Austral Ecology, 31. pp. 429-431.

Orme, C.D.L., Davies, R.G., Olson, V.A., Thomas, G.H., Ding, T-S, Rasmussen, P.C., Ridgely, R.S., Stattersfield, A.J., Bennett, P.M., Owens, I.P.F., Blackburn, T.M. and Gaston, K.J. (2006) Global patterns of geographic range size in birds. PLoS Biology, 4 (7). pp. 1276-1283. ISSN 1544-9173

Storch, D., Davies, R.G., Zajicek, S., Orme, C.D.L., Olson, V., Thomas, G.H., Bennett, P.M., Blackburn, T.M., Owens, I.P.F. and Gaston, K.J. (2006) Energy, range dynamics and global species richness patterns: reconciling mid-domain effects and environmental determinants of avian diversity. Ecology Letters, 9. pp. 1308-1320.

Gaston, K.J., Davies, R.G., Gascoigne, C.E. and Williamson, M. (2005) The structure of global species-range size distributions: raptors and owls. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 14. pp. 67-76.

Orme, C.D.L., Davies, R.G., Burgess, M., Eigenbrod, F., Pickup, N., Olson, V., Webster, A.J., Ding, T.-S., Rasmussen, P.C., Ridgely, R.S., Stattersfield, A.J., Bennett, P.M., Blackburn, T.M., Gaston, K.J. and Owens, I.P.F. (2005) Global hotspots of species richness are not congruent with endemism or threat. Nature, 436 (7053). pp. 1016-1019. ISSN 0028-0836

Davies, R.G., Eggleton, P., Jones, D.T., Gathorne-Hardy, F.J. and Hernandez, L.M. (2003) Evolution of termite functional diversity: analysis and synthesis of local ecological and regional influences on local species richness. Journal of Biogeography, 30. pp. 847-877.

Davies, R.G., Hernandez, L.M., Eggleton, P., Didham, R.K., Fagan, L. and Winchester, N. (2003) Environmental and spatial influences upon species composition of a termite assemblage across Neotropical forest islands. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 19. pp. 509-524.

Davies, R.G. (2002) Feeding group responses of a Neotropical termite assemblage to rain forest fragmentation. Oecologia, 133. pp. 233-242.

Eggleton, P., Davies, R.G., Connetable, S., Bignell, D.E. and Rouland, C. (2002) The termites of the Mayombe Forest Reserve, Congo (Brazzaville): transect sampling reveals an extremely high diversity of ground-nesting soil feeders. Journal of Natural History, 36. pp. 1239-1246.

Gathorne-Hardy, F.J., Syaukani,, Davies, Richard, Eggleton, P. and Jones, D.T. (2002) Quaternary rainforest refugia in south-east Asia: using termites (Isoptera) as indicators. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 75 (4). pp. 453-466. ISSN 00244066

Book Section

Fuller, RA, Tratalos, J, Warren, PH, Davies, RG, Pępkowska, A and Gaston, KJ (2010) Environment and Biodiversity. In: Sustainable City Form. Future City 2, Springer, Dimensions of the Sustainable City, pp. 75-103. ISBN 978-1-4020-8646-5

This list was generated on Sat Apr 6 01:54:08 2013 BST.

External Activities and Indicators of Esteem

  • Referee for international journals and grants
  • Invited speaker June 2008 at Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria

Administrative Posts/Responsibilities

  • Course Director for the Postgraduate Diploma in Ecology
  • Module Organiser for Community, Ecosystem and Macro-ecology (BIO-2B26)
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