Academic Staff
Dr Shane A. Richards, B.Sc. Ph.D.
(email at s.a.richards@durham.ac.uk)
Biography
I joined the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Durham University in 2005. Previously, I held various teaching and post-doctoral research positions at The University of Adelaide, The University of Sydney, Duke University, The University of Amsterdam, The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (University of California-Santa Barbara), and The University of Calgary.
Research
My research focus is theoretical evolutionary ecology. I am interested in developing mathematical models to understand how ecological processes scale up in space and time. I have developed models that address adaptive foraging behaviour, species coexistence, evolutionary dynamics of species traits, and used modelling to help decision making for applied ecological problems (e.g., wildfire and fishery management). Currently, I am investigating the causes of variation during pollen dispersal and their ecological and evolutionary consequences. I am also very interested in model selection; in particular, the use of AIC as a formal framework for testing ecological theory.
Administrative Duties
- Industrial placement officer
- First year exam coordinator
- Module coordinator: Biol 2411 (Ecology)
- Module coordinator (joint): Biol 3351 (Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology)
Editorial Boards
- Scientific Reports
International Collaboration
- Evolution of plant mating systems (LD Harder, University of Calgary)
Research Groups
Research Interests
- Animal Behaviour
- Conservation Biology
- Life-History Evolution & Mating Strategies
- Mathematical Ecology and Evolution
- Model Selection using AIC
- Plant Ecology
- Plant-Pollinator Interactions
Selected Publications
Journal papers: academic
- Harder, L.D., Hobbhahn, N. & Richards, S.A. (2012). How depressed? Estimates of inbreeding effects during seed development depend on reproductive conditions. Evolution 66(5): 1375-1386.
- Richards, S.A., Whittingham, M.J. & Stephens, P.A. (2011). Model selection and model averaging in behavioural ecology: the utility of the IT-AIC framework. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65(1): 77-89.
- Richards, S.A., Williams, N.M. & Harder, L.D. (2009). Variation in pollination: causes and consequences for plant reproduction. American Naturalist 174(3): 382-398.
- Richards, S.A. (2008). Dealing with overdispersed count data in applied ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology 45(1): 218-227.
- Harder, L.D., Richards, S.A. & Routley, M.B. (2008). Effects of reproductive compensation, gamete discounting and reproductive assurance on mating-system diversity in hermaphrodites. Evolution 62(1): 157-172.
- Richards, S.A. (2005). Testing ecological theory using the information-theoretic approach: examples and cautionary results. Ecology 86(10): 2805-2814.
- Seabloom, E.W. & Richards, S.A. (2003). Multiple stable equilibria in grasslands mediated by herbivore population dynamics and foraging behavior. Ecology 84(11): 2891-2904.
- Richards, S.A., Nisbet, R.M., Wilson, W.G. & Possingham, H.P. (2000). Grazers and diggers: exploitation competition and coexistence among foragers with different feeding strategies on a single resource. American Naturalist 155(2): 266-279.
- Richards, S.A., Possingham, H.P. & Tizard, J. (1999). Optimal fire management for maintaining community diversity. Ecological Applications 9(3): 880-892.