RESEARCH INTERESTS

I am interested in a variety of ecological questions which often have underlying application to conservation. I have a particular enthusiasm for islands, where complex ecological relationships can become reducible and tractable. Of particular interest are population and behavioural ecology questions relating to what makes species threatened or invasive, and how these trends can be reversed. I also work with macroecology questions related to biogeography such as species diversity and community composition, and in the application of genetic methods within an ecological context. My work often has a strong statistical modelling or analytical component. I also have a strong interest in animal ethics and environmental values. Research sites have included New Zealand, Southern Ocean, Western Indian Ocean, French Polynesia, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Tibetan Plateau.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

I am a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, jointly appointed in the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Statistics. Prior to this I held postdoctoral research positions in the Evolab at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Seabird Team at the University of Réunion Island, France. My doctoral research was in the Rodent Invasion Project at the University of Auckland, investigating the invasion ecology and genetics of introduced rats on islands.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS (full list) (google scholar)

• Russell, J. C. (2012) Spatio-temporal patterns of introduced mice and invertebrates on Antipodes Island. Polar Biology, 35 (8), 1187-1195 (with DOC, Close Up, AWMS and Ice, Mice and Men, p.193).
• Russell, J. C.; Ruffino, L. (2012) The influence of spatio-temporal resource fluctuations on insular rat population dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B, 279 (1729), 767-774 (with Uninews).
• Russell, J. C.; Ringler, D.; Trombini, A.; Le Corre, M. (2011) The island syndrome and population dynamics of introduced rats. Oecologia, 167 (3), 667-676.
• Russell, J. C. (2011) Indirect effect of introduced predators on seabird islands. In: Mulder, C. P. H.; Anderson W. B.; Towns, D. R.; Bellingham, P. J. (eds) Seabird Islands: Ecology, Invasion, and Restoration. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 261-279.
• Russell, J. C.; Gleeson, D. M.; Le Corre, M. (2011) The origin of Rattus rattus on the Iles Eparses, Western Indian Ocean. Journal of Biogeography, 38 (9), 1834-1836.
• Russell, J. C.; Miller, S. D.; Harper, G. A.; MacInnes, H. E.; Wylie, M. J.; Fewster, R. M. (2010) Survivors or reinvaders? Using genetic assignment to identify invasive pests following eradication. Biological Invasions, 12 (6), 1747-1757 (with NZ Geographic).
• Russell, J. C.; McMorland, A. J. C.; MacKay, J. W. B. (2010) Exploratory behaviour of colonizing rats in novel environments. Animal Behaviour, 79 (1), 159-164.
• Russell, J. C.; Hasler, N.; Klette, R.; Rosenhahn, B. (2009) Automatic track recognition of footprints for identifying cryptic species. Ecology, 90 (7), 2007-2013 (with Dominion Post, NZ Herald and YouTube).
• Russell, J. C.; Abdelkrim, J.; Fewster, R. M. (2009) Early colonisation population structure of a Norway rat island invasion. Biological Invasions, 11 (7), 1557-1567.
• Russell, J. C.; MacKay, J. W. B.; Abdelkrim, J. (2009) Insular pest control within a metapopulation context. Biological Conservation, 142 (7), 1404-1410.