Dr. Annabel Smith

Research interests

My research focusses on demographic landscape genomics.

My background in ecology allows me to integrate the complex biology of species into landscape genomics research. In particular, I examine the roles of demography and dispersal in driving patterns of spatial genomic structure. The environment does not affect species directly but through a demographic or dispersal pathway and it's this process that my research addresses. Understanding this pathway is important because it is the first step towards local adaptation and can influence whether populations will persist in rapidly changing environments.

While being grounded in fundamental biology and ecological theory, my research is always aimed at improving knowledge for biodiversity conservation. My work has applications in fire management, biological invasion and threatened species conservation.

Selected publications

Smith AL, Barrett RL, Milner RNC (2018) Annual mowing maintains plant diversity in threatened temperate grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science, in press

Smith AL (2018) Successional changes in trophic interactions support a mechanistic model of post-fire population dynamics. Oecologia, 186:129-139

Olah G, Smith AL, Asner GP, Brightsmith DJ, Heinsohn RG, Peakall R (2017). Exploring dispersal barriers using landscape genetic resistance modelling in scarlet macaws of the Peruvian Amazon. Landscape Ecology 32, 445-456

Smith AL, Landguth EL, Bull CM, Banks SC, Gardner MG, Driscoll DA (2016). Dispersal responses override density effects on genetic diversity during post-disturbance succession. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 283, 20152934

Smith AL, Blanchard W, Blair D, McBurney L, Banks SC, Driscoll DA, Lindenmayer DB (2016). The dynamic regeneration niche of a forest following a rare disturbance event. Diversity and Distributions 22, 457-467

Smith AL, Bull CM, Gardner MG, Driscoll DA (2014) Life history influences how fire affects genetic diversity in two lizard species. Molecular Ecology 23, 2428–2441