Michelle R. Gibson
My research interests centre around disturbance ecology and how species’ ecological interactions are altered by environmental change with the goal of understanding how to restore or maintain key ecological functions. My research background is in invasion biology and primarily involved investigating the impact of invasive species on plant-animal interactions. My current research similarly explores disturbance impacts of extreme weather events on bird species distributions. Specifically, I am analyzing changes in abundance and density of terrestrial birds of the arid Australian interior. Position: PhD Student in the Department of Biosciences
Supervised by: Prof. Stephen Willis, Dr. Philip Stephens, Dr. Richard Fuller Membership: Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre Contact Details: Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE. Email: michelle.gibson@durham.ac.uk Education
2013-present PhD Biology, Durham University, United Kingdom 2012 MSc Zoology (Honours), Stellenbosch University, South Africa 2007 BSc Entomology (Honours), University of California, Davis, USA Publications
Gibson, M.R., Pauw, A. & Richardson, D.M. (2013) Decreased insect visitation to a native species caused by an invasive tree in the Cape Floristic Region. Biological Conservation, 157, 196–203. Gibson, M.R., Richardson, D.M. & Pauw, A. (2012) Can floral traits predict an invasive plant's impact on native plant-pollinator communities? Journal of Ecology, 100 (5), 1216–1223. Gibson, M.R., Richardson, D.M., Marchante, E., Marchante, H., Rodger, J.G., Stone, G.S., Byrne, M., Fuentes-Ramirez, A., George, N., Harris, C., Johnson, S.D., Le Roux, J.J., Miller, J.T., Murphy, D.J., Pauw, A., Prescott, M.N., Wandrag, E.M. & Wilson, J.R.U. (2011) Reproductive biology of Australian acacias: important mediator of invasiveness? Diversity and Distributions, 17 (5), 911–933. Wilson, J.R.U., Gairifo, C., Gibson, M.R., Arianoutsou, M., Bakar, B.B., Baret, S., Celesti-Grapow, L., DiTomaso, J.M., Dufour-Dror, J.-M., Kueffer, C., Kull, C.A., Hoffmann, J.H., Impson, F.A.C., Loope, L.L., Marchante, E., Marchante, H., Moore, J.L., Murphy, D.J., Tassin, J., Witt, A., Zenni, R.D. & Richardson, D.M. (2011). Risk assessment, eradication, and biological control: global efforts to limit Australian acacia invasions. Diversity and Distributions, 17 (5), 1030–1046. |
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Presentations
A Comparative Approach Concerning Introduced Acacias: A Global Experiment in Biogeography. 2010. “Reproductive biology of Australian acacias: important mediators of invasiveness?” Stellenbosch University, South Africa (International Workshop)
A Comparative Approach Concerning Introduced Acacias: A Global Experiment in Biogeography. 2010. “Reproductive biology of Australian acacias: important mediators of invasiveness?” Stellenbosch University, South Africa (International Workshop)
Selected Awards and Fellowships
Durham Doctoral Scholarship, Durham University, 2013
Merit Bursary, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Travel Award for first prize MSc poster, Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology Annual Research Meeting, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Best MSc talk, Department of Botany & Zoology Annual General Meeting, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Dean’s List, University of California, Davis, 2006
Salutatorian, Granite Hills High School Graduating Class, 2003
Durham Doctoral Scholarship, Durham University, 2013
Merit Bursary, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Travel Award for first prize MSc poster, Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology Annual Research Meeting, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Best MSc talk, Department of Botany & Zoology Annual General Meeting, Stellenbosch University, 2010
Dean’s List, University of California, Davis, 2006
Salutatorian, Granite Hills High School Graduating Class, 2003
