Jack Hatfield

Postdoctoral Research Associate,
Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

Data Analyst 

jack.hatfield@york.ac.uk

Biography

My PhD (Imperial College London) examined the effects of land-use change on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest avifauna, followed by a short post-doctoral position researching avian frugivore dispersal in degraded Amazonian and Atlantic forest systems. I then moved to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, as a statistical ecologist analysing abundance and occupancy data for a wide range of UK species. This was followed by work as a spatial ecological modeller focusing on ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. My work at LCAB covers a range of topics centred around the complexities of biodiversity change in the Anthropocene.

Research

My research background is in community and landscape ecology, investigating how species communities are altered by land-use change. I am also interested in functional ecology from species traits and functional diversity to ecosystem functions.

I am currently focusing on how species losses and gains combine to alter species diversity and generate species turnover with the aim of understanding what this means for current and future biodiversity. Other areas of research include the past, present and future of protected areas and rewilding along with ongoing interests in habitat loss, fragmentation, and connectivity.

Publication highlights 

Hatfield, J.H., Davis, K.E. and Thomas, C.D. (2022). Lost, gained and regained functional and phylogenetic diversity of European mammals since 8,000 years ago. Global Change Biology.

Thomas, C.D., Hill, J.K., Ward, C. and Hatfield, J.H. (2021). Facilitating dynamic and inclusive biodiversity conservation in Britain: an Anthropocene perspective. Report to Natural England, UK.

Hatfield, J.H., Barlow, J., Joly, C.A., Lees, A.C., Parruco, C.H.d.F., Tobias, J.A., Orme, C.D.L. and Banks‐Leite, C. (2020). Mediation of area and edge effects in forest fragments by adjacent land use. Conservation Biology.

Funder 

• The Leverhulme Trust