Author Archives: Jane Catford

Community diversity outweighs effect of warming on plant colonization

Posted on March 24, 2020

Abiotic environmental change, local species extinctions and colonization of new species often co‐occur. Using a unique grassland experiment that isolates abiotic effects of warming from indirect biotic effects, we find that the biomass, richness and traits of plant colonists is … Continue reading →

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The incredible Okavango

Posted on August 17, 2019

Perched in the middle of the southern part of the African continent is the Okavango Delta – an inspiring mosaic of wet and dry, with an abundance of wildlife, breathtaking landscapes, and grasses that would blow your socks off (and … Continue reading →

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Invasive Species Week: UK Invasions in a Changing Climate

Posted on May 20, 2019

Regan Early (University of Exeter) and I wrote this piece to mark Invasive Species Week for the British Ecological Society blog. In it, we discuss the possible synergies between climate change and species invasions, and some associated policy challenges. Whether … Continue reading →

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Species invasions and climate change: can grasslands cope?

Posted on May 10, 2019

Lizzie Jones and I contributed a chapter about grassland invasions to Grasslands and Climate Change, the latest volume of the British Ecological Society’s Ecological Reviews series. This is a blog post that Lizzie – a former MSc student of mine at Southampton – … Continue reading →

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PhDs and the mighty chequered flag

Posted on May 3, 2019

It’s been an exciting time recently – a few PhDs starting, a few others finishing (with two in and two out in the space of a week!). Love it! Angela Bartlett, Stefanie Kaupa and Harry Shepherd recently crossed the starting … Continue reading →

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Moving to King’s College London

Posted on July 19, 2018

In exciting news, I am taking up a new position in the Department of Geography at King’s College London in September. Founded in 1829 by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington (and featuring a duel, no less!), King’s is the fourth oldest … Continue reading →

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SciComm cartoons in multiple languages

Posted on July 6, 2018

Thanks to generous friends and colleagues (and a seemingly unbridled passion for editing in Illustrator?!), the cartoon of Introduced species that overcome life history tradeoffs can cause native extinctions is now in five languages: German, Indonesian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, plus English. … Continue reading →

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How can exotic invasions drive native species extinct?

Posted on May 30, 2018

Read the full paper here:  Catford, J. A., Bode, M. & Tilman, D. (2018) Introduced species that overcome life history tradeoffs can cause native extinctions. Nature Communications 9: 2131.

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Invasions in Malawi, Zimbabwe & South Africa

Posted on May 17, 2018

In November, I escaped the chilly dreariness of southern England and headed to southern Africa. It was a veritable feast of a trip for someone partial to warm weather, warm people and plant invasions. Kicking off the trip was a … Continue reading →

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PhD on ecosystem restoration & plant-soil feedbacks

Posted on October 24, 2017

Applications are now open for a fully funded PhD position at the University of Southampton, UK starting in the 2018/2019 academic year under the supervision of Bjorn Robroek, Robert Griffiths and me. The project will examine the potential for plant-soil interactions … Continue reading →

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