Dr Adam Vanbergen

Dr Adam Vanbergen

Invertebrate Ecologist

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Bush Estate
Penicuik
Midlothian
EH26 0QB
T: +44 (0)131 4454343
F: +44 (0)131 4453943
E-mail: Dr Adam Vanbergen
 

Current work

I manage an interdisciplinary CEH project examining the relationship between land-use extensification, above- and below-ground biodiversity, and linked ecosystem processes. We are quantifying across habitats those biodiversity processes that provide ecosystem services to inform on how to ameliorate the effects of intensive land management (CEH Biodiversity Programme Objectives BD-3.1 and BD-3.2).

PhD students

1. Lynne Robinson (co-supervisors Sue Hartley and Liz Hill, University of Sussex) Title: Plant-mediated impacts of soil food webs on foliar feeding insects and their parasitoids (CEH Biodiversity Programme Objective BD-2.1).  

2. Cathy Fiedler (co-supervisors Dan Chapman, Stephen Cavers CEH; Jacobus Biesmeijer, University of Leeds) Title: Pollinator-mediated interactions between native plants and the invasive Himalayan balsam (CEH Biodiversity Programme Objective BD-2.2).

Research interests

My research interests focus on trophic interactions, community structure, and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes. I investigate the role of human activities in shaping diversity and performance at higher trophic levels directly (herbivores, pollinators) and indirectly (predators, parasites) connected to plants. I am interested in how anthropogenic disturbance at scales from habitats to landscapes impacts on invertebrate communities above and in the soil, and the consequences of biodiversity change for ecosystem function.

Brief CV

  • 1995-1998: BSc First class (Hons) Environmental Biology, University of Greenwich.
  • Employed at CEH since 1998 (CEH Banchory 1998-2007, CEH Edinburgh 2007-present).
  • 1998-2001: worked on NERC and CEH projects examining how host plants shape trophic interactions of insect herbivores (winter moth, pine beauty moth), influence genetic diversity of viral pathogens, and drive local adaptation.
  • 2000-2003: EU FP5 BioAssess project. I examined the relationship between landscape heterogeneity gradients and invertebrate community structure (ground beetles, collembola and other soil fauna).
  • 2002-2006: Part-time doctorate (Cardiff University & CEH). I investigated how spatial heterogeneity at landscape, habitat and host plant scales affects invertebrate diversity (spider, true bug, beetle) and trophic interactions (host-parasitoid).
  • 2008-2010: Joint-PI on a CEH Integrating Fund project to test the relationship between land-use extensification, above and belowground biodiversity, and linked ecosystem processes.

A fuller CV is available here.

Selected Publications

See also the NERC Open Research Archive.

Brook, A.J., Woodcock, B.A., Sinka, M., & Vanbergen, A.J. (2008) Experimental verification of suction sampler capture efficiency in grasslands of differing vegetation height and structure. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45, 1357-1363.

Vanbergen, A.J., Watt, A.D., Mitchell, R.J., Truscott, A.M., Palmer, S.C.F., Ivits, E., Eggleton, P., Jones, T.H., & Sousa, J.P. (2007) Scale-specific correlations between habitat heterogeneity and soil fauna diversity along a landscape structure gradient. Oecologia, 153, 713-725.

Mitchell, R.J., Campbell, C.D., Chapman, S.J., Osler, G.H.R., Vanbergen, A.J., Ross, L.C., Cameron, C.M., & Cole, L. (2007) The cascading effects of birch on heather moorland: a test for the top-down control of an ecosystem engineer. Journal of Ecology, 95, 540-554.

Vanbergen, A.J., Hails, R.S., Watt, A.D., & Jones, T.H. (2006) Consequences for host-parasitoid interactions of grazing-dependent habitat heterogeneity. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75, 789-801.

Sousa, J.P., Bolger, T., da Gama, M.M., Lukkari, T., Ponge, J.F., Simon, C., Traser, G., Vanbergen, A.J., Brennan, A., Dubs, F., Ivitis, E., Keating, A., Stofer, S., & Watt, A.D. (2006) Changes in Collembola richness and diversity along a gradient of land-use intensity: A pan-European study. Pedobiologia, 50, 147-156.

Vanbergen, A.J., Woodcock, B.A., Watt, A.D., & Niemela, J. (2005) Effect of land-use heterogeneity on carabid communities at the landscape scale. Ecography, 28, 3-16.

Eggleton, P., Vanbergen, A.J., Jones, D.T., Lambert, M.C., Rockett, C., Hammond, P.M., Beccaloni, J., Marriott, D., Ross, E., & Giusti, A. (2005) Assemblages of soil macrofauna across a Scottish land-use intensification gradient: influences of habitat quality, heterogeneity and area. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42, 1153-1164.

Vanbergen, A.J., Raymond, B., Pearce, I.S.K., Watt, A.D., Hails, R.S., & Hartley, S.E. (2003) Host shifting by Operophtera brumata into novel environments leads to population differentiation in life-history traits. Ecological Entomology, 28, 604-612.

Raymond, B., Vanbergen, A., Watt, A., Hartley, S.E., Cory, J.S., & Hails, R.S. (2002) Escape from pupal predation as a potential cause of outbreaks of the winter moth, Operophtera brumata. Oikos, 98, 219-228.

Hodgson, D.J., Vanbergen, A.J., Hartley, S.E., Hails, R.S., & Cory, J.S. (2002) Differential selection of baculovirus genotypes mediated by different species of host food plant. Ecology Letters, 5, 512-518.

A fuller list of publications is available here.