I am a plant ecologist who is interested in the causes and consequences of changing biodiversity through human activities.

My current research interests (PhD project) lie in the links between agricultural intensification, plant biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and resilience in grazing systems. I am focusing my research on New Zealand High Country tussock grasslands, which have a legacy of extensive pastoralism. My PhD is done under the supervision of David A. Norton and Jason M. Tylianakis (University of Canterbury), as well as David Scott (AgResearch, now retired).

I have also explored the impacts of land use intensification on the spatial and temporal variability of tropical parasitoid-host food webs (with Jason M. Tylianakis). I have recently been interested in response diversity and functional redundancy under land use change (with members of the ARC-NZ Network for Vegetation Function, Working Group 31). I am also working on the development of functional diversity indices (with Pierre Legendre).

Previously, I have been involved in research studies dealing with ecological restoration of abandoned agricultural land through hardwood afforestation. My MSc thesis was conducted under the supervision of André Bouchard and Alain Cogliastro at Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.

I have also worked on more basic issues such as the processes linked to the origin and maintenance of beta diversity in plant communities, in collaboration with Pierre Legendre.