Biodiversity research is a cornerstone of the School of Biological Sciences, addressing urgent global challenges such as species loss, climate change, and ecosystem resilience. Researchers here explore how life on Earth is distributed, how it changes over time, and how it can be protected for future generations.
A leading voice in this field is the Tonkin Lab, which investigates how ecological communities vary across space and time, and how they respond to environmental change. Their work focuses especially on freshwater ecosystems, using a mix of fieldwork, data analysis, and ecological theory to understand how biodiversity can be sustained in a rapidly changing world.
Recent research led by PhD student Daniel Hern獺ndez-Carrasco and Associate Professor Jonathan Tonkin has revealed how climate-driven disruptions to seasonal rhythmslike changes in rainfall, temperature, and daylightcan ripple through ecosystems. These shifts affect everything from animal migration to genetic diversity, potentially restructuring entire food webs and threatening biodiversity at multiple levels.
This research is not only academically rigorous but also deeply applied, aiming to inform conservation strategies and environmental policy. By combining cutting-edge science with a commitment to real-world impact, UCs biodiversity researchers are helping to safeguard New Zealands unique ecosystems and contribute to global ecological resilience.
Our staff have extensive local and international connections and welcome contact from potential students and collaborators.
Examples of our research include:
- Plant taxonomy and diversity
- Contributing to
- Discovering and describing new plant species
- Citizen Science; Plant discovery through photography
- Resolving species-complexes
- How do evolutionary mechanisms within species contribute to biodiversity?
- Characterisation of oomycete and fungal communities
- Analysis of rarity in ecosystems
- Biodiversity of moulds, mildews and microbes of Aotearoa
- Effects of population bottlenecks on reproductive success
- NZ fur seals as sentinel species of marine ecosystem health
- Describing & understanding biodiversity patterns (e.g., SnapShot Safari; LifePlan)
- How have South Island rocky shores changed over 30 years?
- The biodiversity of species interactions and their contributions to people.
- Understanding patterns of invasive predator site occupancy, methods of control, and meso-predator release.
- The role of environmental fluctuations (including seasonality) on ecological dynamics across scales.
