Alexander Cheesman is a Senior Research Fellow working at James Cook University and  the University of Exeter in the UK,

He is a plant eco-physiologist and soil scientist interested in the dynamic interaction of tropical systems in a changing world. He is an active researcher on issues of climate change,  air pollution, nutrient management, and plant physiology.

Alex completed his PhD in Soil and Water Science at the University of Florida, USA, much of the field work for which was carried out in the remote wetlands of Panama. This led to a 2 year post-doctoral research fellowship at STRI with Dr Klaus Winter, a position funded jointly by the Smithsonian Institute Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO) and Center for Tropical Forest Studies (CTFS), now called CTFS-ForestGEO, with the objective of researching the effects of increasing temperature upon tree physiology in the tropics.  From June 2013 to June 2018 he worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at James Cook University (JCU) working with Dr Lucas Cernusak on issues of plant ecophysiology adaptation and acclimation. Since 2018 he has held a senior research fellow role at JCU and the University of Exeter in the UK  primarily working on TropOZ - an interenational effiort to examine the impacts of air pollution  (and in particular ozone) on tropical systems.

Interests

Research

• Tropical plant ecophysiology
• The impact of temperature on plant functional traits
• Phosphorus in the soil plant continuum
• Stable isotopes as recorders of plant physiological processes
• The impact of tropospheric ozone on tropical systems

Experience

• 2018 to present - Senior Research Fellow, University of Exeter (UK)
• 2018 to present - Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University (Australia)
• 2013 to 2018 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, James Cook University (Australia)
• 2010 to 2013 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Tropical research Institute (Panama)
• 2006 to 2010 - PhD Soil and Water Science, University of Florida (USA)
• 2001 to 2004 - BA Plant Science, Cambridge University (UK)

Research Disciplines

• Plant biology (3108)
• Ecology (3103)
• Microbiology (3107)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding knowledge (2801)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Nottingham A, Cheesman A, Riutta T, Doughty C, Telford E, Huaraca Huasco W, Svátek M, Kvasnica J, Majalap N, Malhi Y, Meir P and Arn Teh Y (2022) Large contribution of recent photosynthate to soil respiration in tropical dipterocarp forest revealed by girdling. Journal of Ecology, 110 (2). pp. 387-403
• Vogado N, Cheesman A and Cernusak L (2022) Delayed greening during leaf expansion under ambient and elevated CO2 in tropical tree seedlings. Austral Ecology, 47 (3). pp. 530-540
• Zanne A, Flores-Moreno H, Powell J, Cornwell W, Dalling J, Austin A, Classen A, Eggleton P, Okada K, Parr C, Adair E, Adu-Bredu S, Alam M, Alvarez-Garzón C, Apgaua D, Aragón R, Ardon M, Arndt S, Ashton L, Barber N, Beauchêne J, Berg M, Beringer J, Boer M, Bonet J, Bunney K, Burkhardt T, Carvalho D, Castillo-Figueroa D, Cernusak L, Cheesman A, Cirne-Silva T, Cleverly J, Cornelissen J, Curran T, D'Angioli A, Dallstream C, Eisenhauer N, Evouna Ondo F, Fajardo A, Fernandez R, Ferrer A, Fontes M, Galatowitsch M, González G, Gottschall F, Grace P, Granda E, Griffiths H, Guerra Lara M, Hasegawa M, Hefting M, Hinko-Najera N, Hutley L, Jones J, Kahl A, Karan M, Keuskamp J, Lardner T, Liddell M, Macfarlane C, Macinnis-Ng C, Mariano R, Méndez M, Meyer W, Mori A, Moura A, Northwood M, Ogaya R, Oliveira R, Orgiazzi A, Pardo J, Peguero G, Penuelas J, Perez L, Posada J, Prada C, P?ív?tivý T, Prober S, Prunier J, Quansah G, Resco de Dios V, Richter R, Robertson M, Rocha L, Rúa M, Sarmiento C, Silberstein R, Silva M, Siqueira F, Stillwagon M, Stol J, Taylor M, Teste F, Tng D, Tucker D, Türke M, Ulyshen M, Valverde-Barrantes O, van den Berg E, van Logtestijn R, Veen G, Vogel J, Wardlaw T, Wiehl G, Wirth C, Woods M and Zalamea P (2022) Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates. Science, 377 (6613). pp. 1440-1444
• Clement R, Flores-Moreno H, Cernusak L, Cheesman A, Yatsko A, Allison S, Eggleton P and Zanne A (2021) Assessing the Australian termite diversity anomaly: how habitat and rainfall affect termite assemblages. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9.
• Doughty C, Cheesman A, Riutta T, Thomson E, Shenkin A, Nottingham A, Telford E, Huasco W, Majalap N, Teh Y, Meir P and Malhi Y (2021) Predicting tropical tree mortality with leaf spectroscopy. Biotropica, 53 (2). pp. 581-595
• Falster D, Gallagher R, Wenk E, Wright I, Indiarto D, Andrew S, Baxter C, Lawson J, Allen S, Fuchs A, Monro A, Kar F, Adams M, Ahrens C, Alfonzetti M, Angevin T, Apgaua D, Arndt S, Atkin O, Atkinson J, Auld T, Baker A, von Balthazar M, Bean A, Blackman C, Bloomfeld K, Bowman D, Bragg J, Brodribb T, Buckton G, Burrows G, Caldwell E, Camac J, Carpenter R, Catford J, Cawthray G, Cernusak L, Chandler G, Chapman A, Cheal D, Cheesman A, Chen S, Choat B, Clinton B, Clode P, Coleman H, Cornwell W, Cosgrove M, Crisp M, Cross E, Crous K, Cunningham S, Curran T, Curtis E, Daws M, DeGabriel J, Denton M, Dong N, Du P, Duan H, Duncan D, Duncan R, Duretto M, Dwyer J, Edwards C, Esperon-Rodriguez M, Evans J, Everingham S, Farrell C, Firn J, Fonseca C, French B, Frood D, Funk J, Geange S, Ghannoum O, Gleason S, Gosper C, Gray E, Groom P, Grootemaat S, Gross C, Guerin G, Guja L, Hahs A, Harrison M, Hayes P, Henery M, Hochuli D, Howell J, Huang G, Hughes L, Huisman J, Ilic J, Jagdish A, Jin D, Jordan G, Jurado E, Kanowski J, Kasel S, Kellermann J, Kenny B, Kohout M, Kooyman R, Kotowska M, Lai H, Laliberte E, Lambers H, Lamont B, Lanfear R, van Langevelde F, Laughlin D, Laugier-kitchener B, Laurance S, Lehmann C, Leigh A, Leishman M, Lenz T, Lepschi B, Lewis J, Lim F, Liu U, Lord J, Lusk C, Macinnis-Ng C, McPherson H, Magallon S, Manea A, Lopez-Martinez A, Mayfeld M, McCarthy J, Meers T, van der Merwe M, Metcalfe D, Milberg P, Mokany K, Moles A, Moore B, Moore N, Morgan J, Morris W, Muir A, Munroe S, Nicholson A, Nicolle D, Nicotra A, Niinemets U, North T, O'Reilly-Nugent A, O'Sullivan O, Oberle B, Onoda Y, Ooi M, Osborne C, Paczkowska G, Pekin B, Pereira C, Pickering C, Pickup M, Pollock L, Poot P, Powell J, Power S, Prentice I, Prior L, Prober S, Read J, Reynolds V, Richards A, Richardson B, Roderick M, Rosell J, Rossetto M, Rye B, Rymer P, Sams M, Sanson G, Sauquet H, Schmidt S, Schoenenberger J, Schulze E, Sendall K, Sinclair S, Smith B, Smith R, Soper F, Sparrow B, Standish R, Staples T, Stephens R, Szota C, Taseski G, Tasker E, Thomas F, Tissue D, Tjoelker M, Tng D, de Tombeur F, Tomlinson K, Turner N, Veneklaas E, Venn S, Vesk P, Vlasveld C, Vorontsova M, Warren C, Warwick N, Weerasinghe L, Wells J, Westoby M, White M, Williams N, Wills J, Wilson P, Yates C, Zanne A, Zemunik G and Zieminska K (2021) AusTraits, a curated plant trait database for the Australian flora. Scientific Data, 8.
• Jones S, Kaisermann A, Ogée J, Wohl S, Cheesman A, Cernusak L and Wingate L (2021) Oxygen isotope exchange between water and carbon dioxide in soils is controlled by pH, nitrate and microbial biomass through links to carbonic anhydrase activity. Soil, 7 (1). pp. 145-159
• Cheesman A, Duff H, Hill K, Cernusak L and McInerney F (2020) Isotopic and morphologic proxies for reconstructing light environment and leaf function of fossil leaves: a modern calibration in the Daintree Rainforest, Australia. American Journal of Botany, 107 (8). pp. 1165-1176
• Forbes S, Cernusak L, Northfield T, Gleadow R, Lambert S and Cheesman A (2020) Elevated temperature and carbon dioxide alter resource allocation to growth, storage and defence in cassava (Manihot esculenta). Environmental and Experimental Botany, 173.
• O. Vogado N, Liddell M, Laurance S, Campbell M, Cheesman A, Engert J, Palma A, Ishida F and Cernusak L (2020) The effects of an experimental drought on the ecophysiology and fruiting phenology of a tropical rainforest palm. Journal of Plant Ecology, 13 (6). pp. 744-753
• Palma Gartner A, Winter K, Aranda J, Dalling J, Cheesman A, Turner B and Cernusak L (2020) Why are tropical conifers disadvantaged in fertile soils? Comparison of Podocarpus guatemalensis with an angiosperm pioneer, Ficus insipida. Tree Physiology, 40 (6). pp. 810-821
• Buckton G, Cheesman A, Munksgaard N, Wurster C, Liddell M and Cernusak L (2019) Functional traits of lianas in an Australian lowland rainforest align with post-disturbance rather than dry season advantage. Austral Ecology, 44 (6). pp. 983-994

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 40+ research outputs authored by Dr Alex Cheesman from 2010 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Functional variation of plants along elevation gradients in tropical forest communities of Papua New Guinea (PhD , External Advisor)
• Are Mountain-Top Endemic Plants Constrained in their Distributions by Physiology? (PhD , External Advisor)
• The effects of tropospheric ozone on tropical plant growth and functioning (PhD , External Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.