At the 厙ぴ勛圖, research into connectivity, interactions, and responses in ecology focuses on how species and ecosystems are linkedand how these connections respond to environmental change. This work is especially important in New Zealand, where unique ecosystems face pressures from climate change, habitat fragmentation, and invasive species.
One key area of study is ecological connectivity in dynamic environments like braided river systems. Researchers investigate how water flow, vegetation, and landforms influence the movement of species and nutrients across landscapes. For example, studies in Canterburys braided rivers have shown how horizontal connectivitythe links between river channels, floodplains, and riparian zonesshapes biodiversity and ecosystem function.
The Freshwater Ecology Research Group (FERG) at UC plays a leading role in this work, examining how aquatic invertebrates, fish, and plants interact within complex habitats. Their research helps explain how ecosystems respond to disturbances like floods, droughts, and land-use change, and how these responses ripple through food webs and nutrient cycles.
This research also explores carbon cycling, showing how vegetation and microbial communities influence the flow of carbon through ecosystems. These insights are crucial for understanding how ecosystems contribute to or mitigate climate change.
By combining fieldwork, ecological modelling, and long-term monitoring, UC scientists are uncovering the hidden networks that sustain life. Their findings inform conservation strategies, river restoration, and land management practices across Aotearoa and beyond.
Our staff have extensive local and international connections and welcome contact from potential students and collaborators.
Examples of our research include:
- Genetic connectivity in fragmented lanscapes
- Respiratory flexibility as a strategy for plant survival along environmental gradients
- Nutrient pulses, energy flow and food webs (e.g., decomposition ecology)
- Plant-oomycete interactions, with a focus on Phytophthora "the plant destroyer"
- Integrating physiology into movement ecology
- Understanding how shared ecological factors influence evolutionary outcomes
- Plant-fungal interactions, particularly mycorrhizas and pathogens
- How plants integrate complex environemntal cues to coordinate adaptive responses
- Poleward range contraction of a subantarctic limpet: Poor connectivity or physiological weakness?
- Understanding the propagation of impacts across ecosystems
