Dr Sally Keith
Postdoctoral Fellow
Program 2: Understanding and Managing Coral Reef Biodiversity
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Postdoctoral Fellow , James Cook University (2010- ); . PhD, Centre for Conservation Ecology, Bournemouth University (2010) Research Interests
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Research Interests
My research interests are grounded in elucidating the processes that explain broad-scale biodiversity patterns over space and time, and in examining the threats to the continuation of these processes. These interests are captured within the disciplines of macroecology and biogeography. The high biodiversity of coral reefs, in combination with the high number of threats to the ecosystem make this an ideal habitat in which to pursue such research.
I am particularly interested in testing emerging ecological concepts with empirical data to determine applicability of these concepts to real-world problems. I aim to place such research in the context of threats to biodiversity and attempt to ensure research outputs can inform conservation action. In doing so, I hope to strengthen links between theoretical, empirical and applied ecology.
Methodologically, my research is progressing from the use of correlative statistical approaches towards a more process-oriented approach, primarily concerned with processes that operate from metacommunity to macroecological scales. The influence of dispersal, colonization, extinction and speciation processes on biodiversity structure and function are central to such an approach.
Select Publications
Newton, A.C., Walls, R.M., Golicher, D., Keith, S.A., Diaz, A. and Bullock, J.M. (2012). Structure, composition and dynamics of a calcareous grassland metacommunity over a seventy year interval. Journal of Ecology. 100 (1):196-209
Keith S.A., Herbert, R.J.H., Norton, P, Hawkins, S.J. & Newton A.C. (2011) Individualistic species limitations of climate-induced range expansions generated by meso-scale dispersal barriers. Diversity and Distributions 17:275-286
Keith, S.A., Newton, A.C., Morecroft, M.D., Golicher, D.J. & Bullock, J.M. (2011) Plant metacommunity structure remains unchanged during biodiversity loss in English woodlands. Oikos 120:302-310
Keith, S.A., Newton, A.C., Morecroft, M.D., Bealey, C.E. & Bullock, J.M. (2009) Taxonomic Homogenization of Woodland Plant Communities over 70 Years. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 276 (1672): 3539-3544
Keith, S.A. Newton, A.C., Herbert, R.J.H., Morecroft, M.D., & Bealey, C.E. (2009) Non-Analogous Community Formation in Response to Climate Change. Journal for Nature Conservation 17:228-235
Diaz, A., Green, I. & Keith, S.A. (2009) Restoration in the Face of Climate Change: A Case Study from the Dorset Heaths. Ecological Restoration 27 (3)
Book chapters:
Morecroft, M.D. & Keith, S.A. (2009) Plant ecology as an indicator of climate and global change. In: Climate Change: Observed impacts on planet Earth (ed. Letcher, T.). Elsevier. pp.297-306
Keith, S.A., Waller, M. S., & Geissmann, T. (2009). Vocal diversity of Kloss’s gibbons (Hylobates klossii) in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia. In Lappan, S. M. and Whittacker, D. (eds.), The Gibbons: New Perspectives on Small Ape Socioecology and Population Biology (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects). Springer, New York. p.51-72
