Disentangling the drivers of beta-diversity

Habitat conversion and invasive species have caused major biodiversity diversity loss in Australia. For instance, since the European settlement, only 10% of the vegetation in Tasmanian Midlands remain due to intensive agricultural conversion. To maintain and restore biodiversity in human-impacted Tasmania, we need to understand the factors and processes that underlie spatial patterns of biodiversity. In my PhD, I will study and illustrate how environmental conditions (i.e., the degree of disturbance, productivity levels, and habitat connectivity) influence the spatial turnover in species composition (i.e.,β-diversity) via a broad-scale observational survey on Tasmania’s freshwater meta-communities.

Community assembly theory and restoration ecology are complementary fields since the first provides a conceptual foundation about the rules that govern species composition of local communities, and the second focuses on the reconstruction of biologically functioning communities. Therefore, I hope research would not only improve our knowledge of the processes controlling β-diversity but would also offer general guidance for conserving and restoring biodiversity in human-modified landscapes.

You can connect with Rahil Amin on LinkedIn, ResearchGate and ORCID.