Dr Kerry Brown
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment
- Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment
- School of Engineering and the Environment
- Penrhyn Road
Associate Professor
- Email:
- k.brown@kingston.ac.uk
About
I am an Associate Professor at Kingston University. I received my BSc in Biology from Howard University (Washington, DC). I then went on to complete my MSc in Applied Ecology and PhD in Ecology and Evolution, both in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University (New York). My dissertation research investigated the multi-scale effects of plant invasions in tropical forests in Puerto Rico. From 2004 - 2008, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship (Columbia University Science Fellow) at Columbia University in New York City. I am a plant ecologist and conservation biologist. My research integrates ecological data from small to large spatial scales to assess how global environmental change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function. My research is conducted in tropical (forests of Madagascar and Puerto Rico) and temperate ecosystems (UK and Spanish peatlands).
Qualifications
- PhD
- MSc
- BSc
- FHEA
Domains
My teaching focuses on ecology and conservation. I am also responsible for teaching statistics in the Department, from first-year to MSc.
Modules:
GG4002 - Introduction to Environmental Science
GG4004 - Research & Fieldwork Methods
GG5180 - Biodiversity Conservation
GG5400 - Design & Management of Projects
GG7050 - Research Methods & Techniques
Courses taught
1) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: I investigate the extent to which changes in biodiversity, including changes in plant functional trait composition can significantly alter dynamics of natural ecosystems (e.g., fens, tropical forests), and in turn, whether these ecosystems are able to deliver key ecosystem services (e.g., biodiversity, carbon storage). Biodiversity plays an integral role in the livelihoods of subsistence communities in tropical developing countries and I seek to understand the interplay between local people and biodiiversity.
2) Spatial predictive models: I investigate the effects of environmental change on biodiversity--across small and large spatial scales--using species distribution models and various other modelling techniques. My current research in this area focuses on modelling species range shift, with a view to better understanding how climate change and deforestation interact to drive species' distributions.
3) Nature-based Solutions (NbS): I investigate barriers to implementing NbS for climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban and peri-urban environments. There are substantial knowledge gaps in our understanding of people's perception of NbS initiatives, leading to discrepancies in behaviours toward climate mitigation and adaptation policy. I work with an interdisciplinary team of researchers to understand motors and drivers of NbS implementation.
Selected Funding
Cascading impacts of landscape structure on forest regeneration. PI: Onja Razafindratsima, Co-PIs: Kerry Brown & Steig Johnson. NSF. 2024-2028.
The Abundance Project: enhancing cultural and green inclusion to address racial and ethnic inequalities in mental health. PIs: Maria Chatzichristodoulou & Tushna Vandrevala. Co-Is: Kerry Brown, Meg Jensen, Peter Garside, Kerry Brown, Chris Tang. AHRC. 2024-2027.
Linking plant functional traits with palaeoecological proxies in peatland habitats. Co-Is: Lourdes López-Merino and Antonio Martínez Cortizas. The Royal Society. 2020-2022.
Ecosystem services from High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) in southwestern Europe. Co-PIs, Fabio Carvalho & Peter Hooda. H2020. 2018-2019.
Specialisms
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
- Tropical plant ecology
- Climate and Land-use change driven range shift
Scholarly affiliations
- British Ecological Society (BES)
Publications
Response of soil carbon and plant diversity to grazing and precipitation in High Nature Value farmlands
Deosaran, Rishi, Carvalho, Fabio, Nunes, Alice, Köbel, Melanie, Serafim, João, Hooda, Peter S., Waller, Martyn, Branquinho, Cristina and Brown, Kerry A., 2024, Forest Ecology and Management (555), pp 121734
The relative effects of access to public greenspace and private gardens on mental health
Collins, Rebecca M., Smith, Dianna, Ogutu, Booker O., Brown, Kerry A., Eigenbrod, Felix and Spake, Rebecca, 2023, Landscape and Urban Planning (240), pp 104902
Trait-based approaches as ecological time machines : developing tools for reconstructing long-term variation in ecosystems
Brown, Kerry A., Bunting, M. Jane, Carvalho, Fabio, de Bello, Francesco, Mander, Luke, Marcisz, Katarzyna, Mottl, Ondrej, Reitalu, Triin and Svenning, Jens-Christian, 2023, Functional Ecology
A national-level assessment of lemur hunting pressure in Madagascar
Borgerson, Cortni, Johnson, Steig E., Hall, Emma, Brown, Kerry A., Narváez-Torres, Pamela R., Rasolofoniaina, Be Jean Rodolph, Razafindrapaoly, Be Noel, Merson, Samuel D., Thompson, Katharine E. T., Holmes, Sheila M., Louis Jr, Edward E. and Golden, Christopher D., 2022, International Journal of Primatology (43), pp 92-113
Small and slow is safe : on the drought tolerance of tropical tree species
Guillemot, Joannès, Martin‐StPaul, Nicolas K., Bulascoschi, Leticia, Poorter, Lourens, Morin, Xavier, Pinho, Bruno X., Maire, Guerric, Bittencourt, Paulo, Oliveira, Rafael S., Bongers, Frans, Brouwer, Rens, Pereira, Luciano, Melo, German Andrés Gonzalez, Boonman, Coline C. F., Brown, Kerry A., Cerabolini, Bruno E.L., Niinemets, Ülo, Onoda, Yusuke, Schneider, Julio V., Sheremetiev, Serge and Brancalion, Pedro H.S., 2022, Global Change Biology (28), 8, pp 2622-2638
The global spectrum of plant form and function : enhanced species-level trait dataset
Díaz, Sandra, Kattge, Jens, Cornelissen, Johannes H. C., Wright, Ian J., Lavorel, Sandra, Dray, Stéphane, Reu, Björn, Kleyer, Michael, Wirth, Christian, Prentice, Colin, Garnier, Eric, Bönisch, Gerhard, Westoby, Mark, Poorter, Hendrik, Reich, Peter B., Moles, Angela T., Dickie, John, Zanne, Amy E., Chave, Jérôme, Wright, S. Joseph, Sheremetiev, Serge N., Jactel, Hervé, Baraloto, Christopher, Cerabolini, Bruno E.L., Pierce, Simon, Shipley, Bill, Casanoves, Fernando, Joswig, Julia S., Günther, Angela, Falczuk, Valeria, Rüger, Nadja, Mahecha, Miguel D., Gorné, Lucas D., Amiaud, Bernard, Atkin, Owen, Bahn, Michael, Baldocchi, Dennis, Beckmann, Michael, Blonder, Benjamin, Bond, William, Bond-Lamberty, Ben, Brown, Kerry, Burrascano, Sabina, Byun, Chaeho, Campetella, Giandiego, Cavender-Bares, Jeannine, Chapin III, F. Stuart, Choat, Brendan, Coomes, David Anthony, Cornwell, William K, Craine, Joseph, Craven, Dylan, Dainese, Matteo, Carioca de Araujo, Alessandro, de Vries, Franciska T., Ferreira Domingues, Tomas, Enquist, Brian J., Fagúndez, Jaime, Fang, Jingyun, Fernández-Méndez, Fernando, Fernandez-Piedade, Maria T., Ford, Henry, Forey, Estelle, Freschet, Gregoire T., Gachet, Sophie, Gallagher, Rachael, Green, Walton, Guerin, Greg R., Gutiérrez, Alvaro G., Harrison, Sandy P, Hattingh, Wesley Neil, He, Tianhua, Hickler, Thomas, Higgins, Steven I., Higuchi, Pedro, Ilic, Jugo, Jackson, Robert B., Jalili, Adel, Jansen, Steven, Koike, Fumito, König, Christian, Kraft, Nathan, Kramer, Koen, Kreft, Holger, Kühn, Ingolf, Kurokawa, Hiroko, Lamb, Eric G., Laughlin, Daniel C, Leishman, Michelle, Lewis, Simon, Louault, Frédérique, Malhado, Ana C. M., Manning, Peter, Meir, Patrick, Mencuccini, Maurizio, Messier, Julie, Miller, Regis, Minden, Vanessa, Molofsky, Jane, Montgomery, Rebecca, Montserrat-Martí, Gabriel, Moretti, Marco, Müller, Sandra, Niinemets, Ülo, Ogaya, Romà, Öllerer, Kinga, Onipchenko, Vladimir, Onoda, Yusuke, Ozinga, Wim A., Pausas, Juli G., Peco, Begoña, Penuelas, Josep, Pillar, Valério D., Pladevall, Clara, Römermann, Christine, Sack, Lawren, Salinas, Norma, Sandel, Brody, Sardans, Jordi, Schamp, Brandon, Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael, Schulze, Ernst-Detlef, Schweingruber, Fritz, Shiodera, Satomi, Sosinski, Ênio, Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda, Spasojevic, Marko J., Swaine, Emily, Swenson, Nathan, Tautenhahn, Susanne, Thompson, Ken, Totte, Alexia, Urrutia, Rocío, Valladares, Fernando, van Bodegom, Peter, Vasseur, François, Verheyen, Kris, Vile, Denis, Violle, Cyrille, von Holle, Betsy, Weigelt, Patrick, Weiher, Evan, Wiemann, Michael C., Williams, Mathew, Wright, Justin and Zotz, Gerhard, 2022, Scientific Data (9), pp 755
Predicting range shifts for critically endangered plants : is habitat connectivity irrelevant or necessary?
Yesuf, Gabriel U., Brown, Kerry A., Walford, Nigel S., Rakotoarisoa, Solofo E. and Rufino, Mariana C., 2021, Biological Conservation (256), pp 109033
A systematic map of research exploring the effect of greenspace on mental health
Collins, Rebecca M., Spake, Rebecca, Brown, Kerry A., Ogutu, Booker O., Smith, Dianna and Eigenbrod, Felix, 2020, Landscape and Urban Planning (201), pp 103823
Changes in functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversities of lowland fens under different vegetation and disturbance levels
Carvalho, Fabio, Brown, Kerry A., Waller, Martyn P., Razafindratsima, Onja H. and Boom, Arnoud, 2020, Plant Ecology (221), pp 441-457
Methods for prioritizing protected areas using individual and aggregate rankings
Carvalho, Fabio, Brown, Kerry A, Gordon, Adam D, Yesuf, Gabriel U, Raherilalao, Marie Jeanne, Raselimanana, Achille P, Soarimalala, Voahangy and Goodman, Steven M, 2020, Environmental Conservation (47), 2, pp 113-122
TRY plant trait database : enhanced coverage and open access
Kattge, Jens, Bonisch, Gerhard, Diaz, Sandra, Lavorel, Sandra, Prentice, Ian C., Leadley, Paul, Tautenhahn, Susanne, Werner, Gijsbert, ..., Brown, Kerry, ..., Waller, Martyn, ... and Wirth, Christian, 2020, Global Change Biology (26), 1, pp 119-188
Assessing regional-scale variability in deforestation and forest degradation rates in a tropical biodiversity hotspot
Yesuf, Gabriel, Brown, Kerry A. and Walford, Nigel, 2019, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (5), 4, pp 346-359
Leaf traits interact with management and water table to modulate ecosystem properties in fen peatlands
Carvalho, Fabio, Brown, Kerry A., Waller, Martyn and Boom, Arnoud, 2019, Plant and Soil (441), 1-2, pp 331-347
A method for reconstructing temporal changes in vegetation functional trait composition using Holocene pollen assemblages
Carvalho, Fabio, Brown, Kerry A., Waller, Martyn P., Bunting, M. Jane, Boom, Arnoud and Leng, Melanie J., 2019, PLoS ONE (14), 5, pp e0216698
Edge effects on components of diversity and above-ground biomass in a tropical rainforest
Razafindratsima, Onja H., Brown, Kerry A., Carvalho, Fabio, Johnson, Steig E., Wright, Patricia C. and Dunham, Amy E., 2018, Journal Of Applied Ecology (55), 249, pp 977-985
Mapping local and global variability in plant trait distributions
Butler, Ethan E., Datta, Abhirup, Flores-Moreno, Habacuc, Chen, Ming, Wythers, Kirk R., Fazayeli, Farideh, Banerjee, Arindam, Atkin, Owen K., Kattge, Jens, Amiaud, Bernard, Blonder, Benjamin, Boenisch, Gerhard, Bond-Lamberty, Ben, Brown, Kerry A., Byun, Chaeho, Campetella, Giandiego, Cerabolini, Bruno E.L., Cornelissen, Johannes H.C., Craine, Joseph M., Craven, Dylan, de Vries, Franciska T., Diaz, Sandra, Domingues, Tomas, Forey, Estelle, Gonzalez, Andres, Gross, Nicolas, Han, Wenxuan, Hattingh, Wesley N., Hickler, Thomas, Jansen, Steven, Kramer, Koen, Kraft, Nathan J.B., Kurokawa, Hiroko, Laughlin, Daniel C., Meir, Patrick, Minden, Vanessa, Niinemets, Ulo, Onoda, Yusuke, Penuelas, Josep, Read, Quentin, Valladares Ros, Fernando, Sack, Lawren, Schamp, Brandon, Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A., Spasojevic, Marko J., Sosinski, Enio, Thornton, Peter, van Bodegom, Peter M., Williams, Matthew, Wirth, Christian and Reich, Peter B., 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (114), 51, pp E10937-E10946
Disentangling the pollen signal from fen systems : modern and Holocene studies from southern and eastern England
Waller, Martyn, Carvalho Gomes Da Silva, Fabio, Grant, Michael J., Bunting, M. Jane and Brown, Kerry, 2017, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology (238), pp 15-33
Modeling co-occurrence between toxic prey and naive predators in an incipient invasion
Brown, Kerry, Farris, Zach J., Yesuf, Gabriel, Gerber, Brian D., Rasambainarivo, Fidisoa, Karpanty, Sarah, Kelly, Marcella, Razafimahaimodison, Jean Claude, Larney, Eileen, Wright, Patricia and Johnson, Steig E., 2016, Biodiversity and Conservation (25), 13, pp 2723-2741
Niche divergence in a brown lemur (' Eulemur ' spp.) hybrid zone : using ecological niche models to test models of stability
Johnson, Steig E., Delmore, Kira E., Brown, Kerry A., Wyman, Tracy M. and Louis, Edward E., 2016, International Journal of Primatology (37), 1, pp 69-88
Predicting plant diversity patterns in Madagascar : understanding the effects of climate and land cover change in a biodiversity hotspot
Brown, Kerry A, Parks, Katherine E, Bethell, Colin, Johnson, Steig E and Mulligan, Mark, 2015, PloS one (10), 4, pp e0122721
Use of provisioning ecosystem services drives loss of functional traits across land use intensification gradients in tropical forests in Madagascar
Brown, Kerry A., Johnson, Steig E., Parks, Katherine E., Holmes, Sheila M., Ivoandry, Tonisoa, Abram, Nicola K., Delmore, Kira E., Ludovic, Reza, Andriamaharoa, Hubert E., Wyman, Tracy M. and Wright, Patricia C., 2013, Biological Conservation (161), May, pp 118-127
Tracking and mapping sun-synchronous migrations and diel space use patterns of Haemulon sciurus and Lutjanus apodus in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Hitt, Steven, Pittman, Simon J. and Brown, Kerry A., 2011, Environmental Biology of Fishes (92), 4, pp 525-538
Assessing natural resource use by forest-reliant communities in Madagascar using functional diversity and functional redundancy metrics
Brown, Kerry A., Flynn, Dan F. B., Abram, Nicola K., Ingram, J. Carter, Johnson, Steig E. and Wright, Patricia, 2011, PloS one (6), 9, pp e24107
Multi-Scale approach for predicting fish species distributions across coral reef seascapes
Pittman, Simon J. and Brown, Kerry, 2011, PLoS Biology (6), 5, pp e20583
Protected Area Safeguard Tree and Shrub Communities from Degradation and Invasion: A Case Study in Eastern Madagascar
Brown, Kerry, Carter Ingram, J., Flynn, Dan F.B., Razafindrazaka, Rova and Jeannoda, Vololoniaina, 2009, Environmental Management (44), 1, pp 136-148
Multi-scale analysis of species introductions: combining landscape and demographic models to improve management decisions about non-native species
Brown, Kerry, Spector, Sacha and Wei, Wu, 2008, Journal Of Applied Ecology (45), 6, pp 1639-1648
Effects of an invasive tree on community structure and diversity in a tropical forest in Puerto Rico
Brown, Kerry, Scatena, F.N. and Gurevitch, Jessica, 2006, Forest Ecology and Management (226), 1-3, pp 145-152
Long-term impacts of logging on forest diversity in Madagascar
Brown, Kerry and Gurevitch, Jessica, 2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) ISSN 1091-6490 (101), 16, pp 6045-6049
The distance dependence prediction of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis: a meta-analysis
Hyatt, Laura, Rosenberg, Michael, Howard, Timothy, Bole, Gregory, Fang, Wei, Anastasia, J.A., Brown, Kerry, Grella, Rebecca, Hinman, Katherine, Kurdziel, J.A. and Gurevitch, Jessica, 2003, Oikos (103), 3, pp 590-602
Madagascar protected area prioritization : a road map for conservation
Brown, Kerry A., Gordon, Adam, Carvalho, Fabio and Yesuf, Gabriel (2018). In: Goodman, Steven M., (eds.), Raherilalao, Marie Jeanne, (eds.) and Wohlhauser, Sebastien, (eds.), The terrestrial protected areas of Madagascar: their history, description, and biota. Antananarivo, Madagascar: Association Vahatra, pp 1693-1705
The specialist capuchin? Using ecological niche models to compare niche breadth in Mesoamerican primates.
Johnson, Steig E. and Brown, Kerry A. (2018). In: Kalbitzer, Urs, (eds.) and Jack, Katharine M., (eds.), Primate Life Histories, Sex Roles, and Adaptability : Essays in Honour of Linda M. Fedigan. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp 311-329
Gallery of work
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Research team in Xistral Mountains in Spain (September 2021).
The research team are in the Xistral Mountains collecting data for the Palaeotraits project funded by The Royal Society
