Professor Tim Benton

BA, Oxford, PhD, Cambridge, FLS
Professor of Population Ecology
Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology

Background: My PhD was on the behaviour and ecology of scorpions, after which I spent some time working on Pacific biogeography, aphid behavioural ecology before moving into population dynamics. My main work involves looking at the way that variation in the environment causes variation in life-histories and thus variation in population dynamics. I work with models and model systems (soil mites, farmland ecology), within an evolutionary and conservation framework. I was lecturer and senior lecturer in Stirling, senior lecturer in Aberdeen and came to Leeds as professor in 2005. I was Director of the Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology from 2005 to July 2007 and became Pro-Dean for Research in August 2007.

Office: Miall 7.07
Phone: +44(0) 113 34 37600
Email: email address for Professor Tim Benton 

Centre membership: The Earth and Biosphere Institute

Lab: Leader of the Benton_T group

Publications

List Professor Benton's Publications


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Research Interests

Population, evolutionary and conservation ecology

 My prime research areas concern (a) biodiversity and population management under scenarios of environmental change and (b) the ecology of agricultural land. My approaches include:

  •  working in the field. I am involved in “sustainable agriculture” projects in the UK – funded by RELU, China – funded by BBSRC, India – funded by ESRC “Science Bridge” and sub-Saharan Africa – funded by University of Leeds,
  • using model species in the laboratory to elucidate fundamental biological mechanisms.  I have worked extensively soil mites to understand the link between an individual’s current (and past) environments and the life-history (and therefore the population dynamics) that result. The mite model has also been instrumental in understanding phenotypic plasticity, maternal effects, dispersal behaviour and the impacts of harvesting,
  • developing mathematical & or statistical models (based on time series data, or mechanistic understanding). These models have been used to explore the interaction of environmental change – whether climate change or e.g. harvest pressure - and population dynamics (or biodiversity), or predict population trends.
 

The rationale for much of my research concerns managing natural resources (e.g. species of economic and conservation concern, and biodiversity that provide services such as pollination) in the face of climate change. In recent years, I have put much effort into developing work in “sustainable agriculture”, recognising that global population growth and climate change are fundamental challenges to global food security, and this will lead to severe pressure on land resources and natural communities. There is therefore a great need to work with agriculture to develop methodologies that conserve biodiversity as much as possible, whilst maximising the ability to produce food. “Ecosystem services” are a natural rational for conserving some (but not all) biodiversity. 

To give a flavour of my interests, here are a selection of projects I am currently involved in:

(a) a project comparing the performance of conventional vs organic farms in the UK (where I am leader of a £400k work package, assessing biodiversity and agroecology). This is a large interdisciplinary project, and involves collaboration with social scientists, and also scenario modelling.

(b) a project looking at food security in Africa in the face of climate change and human population growth. This is another large interdisciplinary project, and includes climatologists, crop biotechnologists, human nutritionists and social scientists concerned with livelihoods and sustainability.

(c) projects investigating the interplay between population and evolutionary dynamics. One project – NERC funded, ended Autumn 08, now Univ of Leeds’ funded – investigated the evolutionary and ecological impacts of harvesting. One – NERC funded, current – is investigating eco-evolutionary dynamics in a range of species.

(d) the following studentship projects (as first or co-supervisor): scale-dependence of ecosystem services in farmland (BBSRC), the evolution of senescence in C elegans (White Rose), Urban biodiversity: planning and scaling (U of Leeds), farming and biodiversity: heterogeneity and resilience (NERC-ESRC), habitat-wader associations at multiple scales (Yorkshire Dales NP Authority), Predation/food/farming practice interactions on Yellowhammer ecology (BBSRC).

Much of my research concerns understanding systems (rather than focussing on components in a reductionist way). As such, “systems approaches” are a state of mind rather than a technique. 

 

Current and recently funded projects

  • 2002-5 NERC. Standard grant. The biology of the lag. £226,400
  • 2003-5 NERC. Small grant. Reproductive Allocation decisions. £30,304
  • 2004-7 NERC. UK PopNet grant. Modelling farmland birds. £153,102 (UK PopNet project grant with Bill Sutherland, UEA (lead PI), Benton and Xavier Lambin, Aberdeen)
  • 2004-6 NERC. Standard grant. Life history and population dynamics of Mauritius kestrels. Ken Norris, Reading, (lead PI) & Benton. £93,348
  • 2005-8 NERC. Standard grant. Harvesting and environmental variability: the causes and consequences of evolution in ecological time. (S.Piertney, Aberdeen co-I). £271,787
  • 2005-9   BBSRC/NERC/ESRC RELU grant: An integrated analysis of scale effects in alternative agricultural systems (S Stagl, SRI, Leeds PI). £849,944 (awarded, £395k through Leeds Biology, with me as WP leader)
  • 2007-10  NERC. Standard grant (co-I with Prof Tim Coulson, Imperial) Individual differences and the dynamics of animal populations? (£66,308 to Leeds, £277,897 to Imperial)
  • 2008 -11 RCUK-DST INDIA Science Bridges: sustainable agriculture initiative (£998369 to Leeds, £500 K to India, PI Dr PE Urwin, co-Is Atkinson, Benton, Davies, Kepinski, Sankaran)