All Outputs (40)

Distribution models calibrated with independent field data predict two million ancient and veteran trees in England (2022)
Journal Article
Nolan, V., Gilbert, F., Reed, T., & Reader, T. (2022). Distribution models calibrated with independent field data predict two million ancient and veteran trees in England. Ecological Applications, 32(8), Article e2695. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2695

Large, citizen-science species databases are powerful resources for predictive species distribution modeling (SDM), yet they are often subject to sampling bias. Many methods have been proposed to correct for this, but there exists little consensus as... Read More about Distribution models calibrated with independent field data predict two million ancient and veteran trees in England.

The effect of agri-environment schemes on Bombus terrestris colony success (2022)
Journal Article
Crowther, L. I., Reader, T., & Gilbert, F. (2022). The effect of agri-environment schemes on Bombus terrestris colony success. Ecological Entomology, 47(5), 911-914. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13155

As with other species linked to agricultural environments, many bumblebee species are exhibiting significant population declines. This study assesses the success of colonies of Bombus terrestris audax on farms differing in conservation inputs via agr... Read More about The effect of agri-environment schemes on Bombus terrestris colony success.

Solving sampling bias problems in presence–absence or presence-only species data using zero-inflated models (2021)
Journal Article
Nolan, V., Gilbert, F., & Reader, T. (2022). Solving sampling bias problems in presence–absence or presence-only species data using zero-inflated models. Journal of Biogeography, 49(1), 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14268

Aim: Large databases of species records such as those generated through citizen science projects, archives or museum collections are being used with increasing frequency in species distribution modelling (SDM) for conservation and land management. De... Read More about Solving sampling bias problems in presence–absence or presence-only species data using zero-inflated models.

Target-group backgrounds prove effective at correcting sampling bias in Maxent models (2021)
Journal Article
Barber, R. A., Ball, S. G., Morris, R. K., & Gilbert, F. (2022). Target-group backgrounds prove effective at correcting sampling bias in Maxent models. Diversity and Distributions, 28(1), 128-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13442

Aim: Accounting for sampling bias is the greatest challenge facing presence-only and presence-background species distribution models; no matter what type of model is chosen, using biased data will mask the true relationship between occurrences and en... Read More about Target-group backgrounds prove effective at correcting sampling bias in Maxent models.

Mapping the evolution of accurate Batesian mimicry of social wasps in hoverflies (2021)
Journal Article
Leavey, A., Taylor, C. H., Symonds, M. R. E., Gilbert, F., & Reader, T. (2021). Mapping the evolution of accurate Batesian mimicry of social wasps in hoverflies. Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14336

Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) provide an excellent opportunity to study the evolution of Batesian mimicry, where defenseless prey avoid predation by evolving to resemble defended “model” species. Although some hoverflies beautifully resemble their... Read More about Mapping the evolution of accurate Batesian mimicry of social wasps in hoverflies.

Historical maps confirm the accuracy of zero‐inflated model predictions of ancient tree abundance in English wood‐pastures (2021)
Journal Article
Nolan, V., Reader, T., Gilbert, F., & Atkinson, N. (2021). Historical maps confirm the accuracy of zero‐inflated model predictions of ancient tree abundance in English wood‐pastures. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58(11), 2661-2672. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13996

Ancient trees have important ecological, historical and social connections, and are a key source of dead and decaying wood, a globally declining resource. Wood-pastures, which combine livestock grazing, open spaces and scattered trees, are significan... Read More about Historical maps confirm the accuracy of zero‐inflated model predictions of ancient tree abundance in English wood‐pastures.

The effect of agri-environment schemes on bees on Shropshire farms (2020)
Journal Article
Crowther, L. I., & Gilbert, F. (2020). The effect of agri-environment schemes on bees on Shropshire farms. Journal for Nature Conservation, 58, Article 125895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125895

© 2020 The decline of bees and other invertebrate pollinators is cause for global concern, with modern intensive agriculture identified as a key driver. Government-run agri-environment schemes (AES) have the potential to restore the local landscape t... Read More about The effect of agri-environment schemes on bees on Shropshire farms.

The Ancient Tree Inventory: a summary of the results of a 15 year citizen science project recording ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK (2020)
Journal Article
Nolan, V., Reader, T., Gilbert, F., & Atkinson, N. (2020). The Ancient Tree Inventory: a summary of the results of a 15 year citizen science project recording ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK. Biodiversity and Conservation, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02033-2

© 2020, The Author(s). Ancient, veteran and notable trees are ecologically important keystone organisms and have tangible connections to folklore, history and sociocultural practices. Although found worldwide, few countries have such a rich history o... Read More about The Ancient Tree Inventory: a summary of the results of a 15 year citizen science project recording ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK.

Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in helminth infracommunities of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in St. Katherine’s Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt (2018)
Journal Article
Behnke, J. M., Bajer, A., Behnke-Borowczyk, J., Clisham, N., Gilbert, F., Glover, A., …Zalat, S. (in press). Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in helminth infracommunities of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in St. Katherine’s Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt. Parasitology, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018000987

The importance of parasites as a selective force in host evolution is a topic of current interest. However, short-term ecological studies of host-parasite systems, on which such studies are usually based, provide only snap-shots of what may be dynami... Read More about Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in helminth infracommunities of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in St. Katherine’s Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt.

Elevation patterns of plant diversity and recent altitudinal range shifts in Sinai’s high mountain flora (2018)
Journal Article
Coals, P., Shmida, A., Vasl, A., Mansour, N., & Gilbert, F. (in press). Elevation patterns of plant diversity and recent altitudinal range shifts in Sinai’s high mountain flora. Journal of Vegetation Science, 29(2), https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12618

Questions: Is there evidence of recent altitudinal range shifts in a hyper-arid Middle Eastern desert mountain flora? How do the directions of shift for upper and lower altitudinal range limits of plants vary? Location: Hyper-arid mountain desert,... Read More about Elevation patterns of plant diversity and recent altitudinal range shifts in Sinai’s high mountain flora.

Alien honeybees increase pollination risks for range-restricted plants (2018)
Journal Article
Norfolk, O., Gilbert, F., & Eichhorn, M. P. (2018). Alien honeybees increase pollination risks for range-restricted plants. Diversity and Distributions, 24(5), 705-713. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12715

Aim:Range-restricted species are of high conservation concern and the way in which they interact with more widespread species has implications for their persistence. Here we determine how the specialisation of mutualistic interactions varies with res... Read More about Alien honeybees increase pollination risks for range-restricted plants.

Laws in ecology: diverse modes of explanation for a holistic science? (2017)
Journal Article
Gunton, R., & Gilbert, F. (2017). Laws in ecology: diverse modes of explanation for a holistic science?. Zygon, 52(2), 538-560. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12334

Ecology’s reputation as a holistic and soft science is partly due to widespread misconceptions of its nature as well as shortcomings in its methodology. We show how the pursuit of empirical laws of ecology can foster the emergence of a more unified a... Read More about Laws in ecology: diverse modes of explanation for a holistic science?.

A pilot study to survey the carnivore community in the hyper-arid environment of South Sinai Mountains (2017)
Journal Article
Gecchele, L. V., Bremner-Harrison, S., Gilbert, F., Soultan, A. E., Davison, A., & Durrant, K. L. (2017). A pilot study to survey the carnivore community in the hyper-arid environment of South Sinai Mountains. Journal of Arid Environments, 141, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.01.009

Carnivores are one of the taxa most affected by habitat fragmentation and human persecution; as a result, most carnivore species are declining; for this reason monitoring changes in carnivore population is paramount to plan effective conservation pro... Read More about A pilot study to survey the carnivore community in the hyper-arid environment of South Sinai Mountains.

Detecting intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR activity by liposome-based in vivo transfection of a fluorescent biosensor (2017)
Journal Article
Weitsman, G., Mitchell, N. J., Evans, R., Cheung, A., Kalber, T. L., Bofinger, R., …Ng, T. (in press). Detecting intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR activity by liposome-based in vivo transfection of a fluorescent biosensor. Oncogene, https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2016.522

Despite decades of research in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling field, and many targeted anti-cancer drugs that have been tested clinically, the success rate for these agents in the clinic is low, particularly in terms of the im... Read More about Detecting intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR activity by liposome-based in vivo transfection of a fluorescent biosensor.

Which traits do observers use to distinguish Batesian mimics from their models? (2016)
Journal Article
Taylor, C. H., Warrin, J., Gilbert, F., & Reader, T. (in press). Which traits do observers use to distinguish Batesian mimics from their models?. Behavioral Ecology, 28(2), https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arw166

Batesian mimicry, in which a harmless mimic resembles a more aversive model, can encompass a wide range of morphological traits, but the resemblance is never perfect. Previous studies have used abstract “prey” designs to show that differences in cert... Read More about Which traits do observers use to distinguish Batesian mimics from their models?.

Why many Batesian mimics are inaccurate: evidence from hoverfly colour patterns (2016)
Journal Article
Taylor, C. H., Reader, T., & Gilbert, F. (2016). Why many Batesian mimics are inaccurate: evidence from hoverfly colour patterns. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1842), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1585

Mimicry is considered a classic example of the elaborate adaptations that natural selection can produce, yet often similarity between Batesian (harmless) mimics and their unpalatable models is far from perfect. Variation in mimetic accuracy is a puzz... Read More about Why many Batesian mimics are inaccurate: evidence from hoverfly colour patterns.

Using species distribution models to assess the importance of Egypt’s Protected Areas for the conservation of medicinal plants (2016)
Journal Article
Kaky, E., & Gilbert, F. (in press). Using species distribution models to assess the importance of Egypt’s Protected Areas for the conservation of medicinal plants. Journal of Arid Environments, 135, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.09.001

Human activities affect the distribution and abundance of plants, with impacts on ecosystem services and human well-being; it is thus vital that a network of Protected Areas is capable of conserving plants that are useful. Using the species distribut... Read More about Using species distribution models to assess the importance of Egypt’s Protected Areas for the conservation of medicinal plants.

Phenological shifts in hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae): linking measurement and mechanism (2016)
Journal Article
Hassall, C., Owen, J., & Gilbert, F. (in press). Phenological shifts in hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae): linking measurement and mechanism. Ecography, 40(7), https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02623

An understanding of ecological and evolutionary responses to global environmental change requires both a robust measurement of the change that is occurring and a mechanistic framework for understanding the drivers of that change. Such a requirement p... Read More about Phenological shifts in hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae): linking measurement and mechanism.

Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in four montane wadis in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt (2016)
Journal Article
Alsarraf, M., Bednarska, M., Mohallal, E. M., Mierzejewska, E. J., Behnke-Borowczyk, J., Zalat, S., …Bajer, A. (2016). Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in four montane wadis in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt. Parasites and Vectors, 9(195), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-016-1471-z

Background: Long-term field studies of parasite communities are rare but provide a powerful insight into the ecological processes shaping host-parasite interactions. The aim of our study was to monitor long-term trends in the haemoparasite communitie... Read More about Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in four montane wadis in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt.

Hoverflies are imperfect mimics of wasp colouration (2016)
Journal Article
Taylor, C. H., Reader, T., & Gilbert, F. (2016). Hoverflies are imperfect mimics of wasp colouration. Evolutionary Ecology, 30(3), 567-581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-016-9824-9

Many Batesian mimics are considered to be inaccurate copies of their models, including a number of hoverfly species which appear to be poor mimics of bees and wasps. This inaccuracy is surprising since more similar mimics are expected to deceive pred... Read More about Hoverflies are imperfect mimics of wasp colouration.