I am an ecologist who is interested in the impact of anthropogenic change on forest ecosystems, with a focus on ensuring these ecosystems are protected and resilient to future environmental change. My research has been based in tropical and temperate human-modified landscapes, and focused on both plant and animal communities.
PhD Ecology (UKCEH and University of York, 2020)
MRes Ecology and Environmental Biology (University of Glasgow, 2013)
BSc Zoology (University of Glasgow, 2011)
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the NERC-funded project "Restoring Resilient Ecosystems (RestREco)". This project aims to move restoration science forward, by considering complexity and resilience as fundamental aims for restoration projects, rather than attempting to re-create specific target ecosystems. The project includes restored grasslands and woodlands within the UK, and I will be focusing on the woodland aspect of this project.
PhD project. Intact tropical rainforests are considered to be robust to exotic plant invasions. However, land-use change across the tropics is altering the structure and native species composition of rainforests, potentially making these landscapes vulnerable to invasion. My PhD examined local and landscape-scale factors that affect exotic plant invasion in remnant forest sites surrounded by oil-palm plantations across Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, spanning gradients in landscape-scale fragmentation and local forest disturbance.
Article
Evidence of biotic resistance to exotic plant invasion in degraded Bornean forests
Waddell EH, Chapman DS, Hill JK, Hughes M, Sailim AB, Tangah J & Banin LF (2023) Evidence of biotic resistance to exotic plant invasion in degraded Bornean forests. Biotropica. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13227
Article
Scriven SA, Waddell EH, Sim S, King H, Reynolds G, Yeong KL & Hill JK (2022) Supporting decision-making by companies in delivering their climate net-zero and nature recovery commitments: synthesizing current information and identifying research priorities in rainforest restoration. Global Ecology and Conservation, 40, Art. No.: e02305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02305
Article
Waddell EH, Chapman DS, Hill JK, Hughes M, Bin Sailim A, Tangah J & Banin LF (2020) Trait filtering during exotic plant invasion of tropical rainforest remnants along a disturbance gradient. Functional Ecology, 34 (12), pp. 2584-2597. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13679
Article
Land-use change and propagule pressure promote plant invasions in tropical rainforest remnants
Waddell EH, Banin LF, Fleiss S, Hill JK, Hughes M, Jelling A, Yeong KL, Ola BB, Sailim AB, Tangah J & Chapman DS (2020) Land-use change and propagule pressure promote plant invasions in tropical rainforest remnants. Landscape Ecology, 35 (9), p. 1891–1906. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01067-9
Article
Fleiss S, Waddell EH, Bala Ola B, Banin LF, Benedick S, Bin Sailim A, Chapman DS, Jelling A, King H, McClean CJ, Yeong KL & Hill JK (2020) Conservation set-asides improve carbon storage and support associated plant diversity in certified sustainable oil palm plantations. Biological Conservation, 248, Art. No.: 108631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108631
Article
Waddell EH, Crotti M, Lougheed SC, Cannatella DC & Elmer KR (2018) Hierarchies of evolutionary radiation in the world’s most species rich vertebrate group, the Neotropical Pristimantis leaf litter frogs. Systematics and Biodiversity, 16 (8), pp. 807-819. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2018.1503202
Article
Turning into frogs: Asymmetry in forelimb emergence and escape direction in metamorphosing anurans
Zechini L, Lilley A, Waddell E, Burns TJ, Downie JR & Walsh PT (2017) Turning into frogs: Asymmetry in forelimb emergence and escape direction in metamorphosing anurans. Laterality, 22 (6), pp. 641-653. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650x.2016.1235175
Article
Waddell E, Whitworth A & Macleod R (2016) A first test of the thread bobbin tracking technique as a method for studying the ecology of herpetofauna in a tropical rainforest. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 11 (1), pp. 61-71. http://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_11/Issue_1/Waddell_etal_2016.pdf
