Research interests
I am fascinated by biodiversity, particularly the factors that shape communities and the consequences of anthropogenic pressures. My research focuses on understanding how anthropogenic stressors have affected and will continue to affect biodiversity, with a particular emphasis on three levels of interest: (i) species distribution, (ii) community interactions, and (iii) ecosystem function. I investigate the underlying mechanisms that enable biodiversity to adapt to these pressures. Additionally, I employ a multi-taxonomic approach (using environmental DNA) to examine how changes at one trophic level, driven by anthropogenic pressures, ripple through the ecosystem, altering interactions between various groups and ultimately influencing ecosystem function.
My research combines both molecular and traditional methods, allowing me to investigate the entire ecosystem at scale, while also considering the spatial and temporal dynamics that are critical aspects of the data I collect. I believe to address complex and important issues, such as climate change, transdisciplinary work is essential. Collaboration across disciplines is vital addressing these critical challenges and finding effective solutions.
Specific areas:
Environmental DNA:
By collecting eDNA samples we are able to discover biodiversity on an unprecedented scale:
Scalability - routine biomonitoring is key for timely and accurate understanding of an ecosystem. I am involved in a number of research projects developing species-specific methods (for invasive alien species) and whole community approaches (known as metabarcoding) for routine biomonitoring of macroinvertebrates (See Blackman et al. 2018; 2020a; 2020b)
Reassess - gathering “complete” biodiversity by reassessing eDNA samples for multiple taxonomic groups we gain a holistic view of the ecosystem previously unseen (Altermatt et al. 2020; Blackman et al. 2022).
Non-invasive conservation - Using eDNA allows us to collect biodiversity information allows us to conserve rare/protected species which would have been harmed with previous monitoring efforts (See Blackman et al. 2021).
Flow:
Global weather patterns are changing. This disruption can cause unseasonal intense periods of rainfall and flooding alongside an increase in intermittent ephemeral waterbodies. In my research I want to decipher how this impacts biodiversity and the ecosystem as a whole. This will allow further exploration of species adaptation via their resistance and resilience capabilities. This area of research will establish how different trophic levels (e.g., microbes, macrophytes and macroinvertebrates) are able to either resist or their resilience to recover after suffering the disturbance. In a recent review, we proposed using genomic tools to explore these adaptations (available here), we will be able to identify key adaptations providing insight into community interactions and the functional traits of ecologically important taxa within these dynamics systems.
Invasive species:
There has been a steep increase in the number of invasive alien species (IAS) spreading to new areas throughout all ecosystems in recent years due to the increase in trade, tourism, and travel. One of the main motivations for my PhD was to explore different applications of eDNA for the detection of UK priority invasive alien macroinvertebrate species in rivers: a targeted assay or species-specific detection approach using standard and qPCR and then a metabarcoding or community based detection using Next Generation Sequencing. I worked on two target species Zebra and Quagga mussel detection and developed species specific approaches for both - you can read about this work here and here.
Biomonitoring:
Having been a freshwater ecologist for the UK Environment Agency for many years, I am aware of the importance of effective biomonitoring schemes for different Biological Quality Elements (BQEs). Since developing methods using environmental and bulk DNA to examine groups such as macroinvertebrates and fish, I now aim to utilise the full potential of these molecular tools to aid the consideration of aquatic systems. Currently, I am leading a European wide project carrying out a series of ring test experiments to compare morphological identification and bulk DNA samples. This experiment stems from our work published here.
Macrophytes:
Aquatic plants are an important part of the aquatic ecosystem and form the base of the ecosystem, but are often overlooked. Aquatic plants oxygenate the water and provide cover, food and habitat for wildlife within the aquatic ecosystem. There is huge potential to understand how systems are adapting to change by focusing on the plants and how anthropogenic pressures are shaping how this group persists