I am broadly interested in the evolutionary ecology of ecological communities, and my background is in entomology and statistics. I use theoretical and empirical methods and try to combine the two as often as possible. My empirical research generally focuses on insect communities, but I have also worked on other systems through collaboration. Some of my research interests include:

How does coevolution alter the effects of climate change on ecological communities?

How do community structure and interactions alter ecosystem functions, such as natural pest control by insect predators?

How does climate change alter ecosystem functions provided by ecological communities?

How do land management regimes influence biodiversity conservation?

More information on me and my labgroup is available at northfieldlab.org

Interests

Research

• Community ecology
• Theoretical ecology
• Statistical ecology
• Biological control

Experience

• 2013 to present - Lecturer, James Cook University
• 2011 to 2013 - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin

Research Disciplines

• Ecology (0602)
• Ecological Applications (0501)
• Environmental Science and Management (0502)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Horticultural Crops (8202)

Awards

• JCU Inclusive Practice Award
• JCU Early Career Researcher Rising Star

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

• Bloom E, Northfield T and Crowder D (2019) A novel application of the Price equation reveals that landscape diversity promotes the response of bees to regionally rare plant species. Ecology Letters, 22 (12), pp. 2103-2110, DOI:10.1111/ele.13406.
• Evans E, Northfield T, Daly N and Wilson D (2019) Venom costs and optimization in scorpions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, Article: 196, DOI:10.3389/fevo.2019.00196.
• Forbes S, Mustiga G, Romero A, Northfield T, Lambert S and Motamayor J (2019) Supplemental and synchronized pollination may increase yield in cacao. HortScience, 54 (10), pp. 1718-1727, DOI:10.21273/HORTSCI12852-18.
• Lashmar N, Berryman S, Liddell M, Morrison A, Cernusak L, Northfield T, Goosem S and Jennison B (2019) Environmental impacts of abrasive blasting of transmission towers in protected areas. Journal of Environmental Management, 252, Article: 109430, DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109430.
• Smith O, Cohen A, Rieser C, Davis A, Taylor J, Adesanya A, Jones M, Meier A, Reganold J, Orpet R, Northfield T and Crowder D (2019) Organic farming provides reliable environmental benefits but increases variability in crop yields: a global meta-analysis. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 3, Article: 82, DOI:10.3389/fsufs.2019.00082.
• Younes N, Joyce K, Northfield T and Maier S (2019) The effects of water depth on estimating Fractional Vegetation Cover in mangrove forests. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 83, Article: 101924, DOI:10.1016/j.jag.2019.101924.
• de Oliveira Roque F, Menezes J, Northfield T, Ochoa-quintero J, Campbell M and Laurance W (2018) Warning signals of biodiversity collapse across gradients of tropical forest loss. Scientific Reports, 8, Article: 1622, DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-19985-9.
• Ferguson J, Northfield T and Lach L (2018) Honey bee (Apis mellifera) pollen foraging reflects benefits dependent on individual infection status. Microbial Ecology, 78 (2), pp. 482-491, DOI:10.1007/s00248-018-1147-7.
• Gangur A, Seymour J, Liddell M, Wilson D, Smout M and Northfield T (2018) When is overkill optimal? Tritrophic interactions reveal new insights into venom evolution. Theoretical Ecology, 11 (2), pp. 141-149, DOI:10.1007/s12080-017-0354-z.
• Northfield T, Laurance S, Mayfield M, Paini D, Snyder W, Stouffer D, Wright J and Lach L (2018) Native turncoats and indirect facilitation of species invasions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 285 (1871), Article: 20171936, DOI:10.1098/rspb.2017.1936.
• Sambhu H, Nankishore A, Turton S and Northfield T (2018) Trade‐offs for butterfly alpha and beta diversity in human‐modified landscapes and tropical rainforests. Ecology and Evolution, 8 (24), pp. 12918-12928, DOI:10.1002/ece3.4732.
• Clarke D, York P, Rasheed M and Northfield T (2017) Does biodiversity–ecosystem function literature neglect tropical ecosystems? . Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 32 (5), pp. 320-323, DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2017.02.012.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 36+ research outputs authored by Dr Tobin Northfield from 2008 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 Primary or 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

• Fruit development in Theobroma cacao: understanding the limitations to optimized cacao production. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The Impacts of Soil Physicochemicol Properties on Suppression of Fusorium wilt of Bananas in North Queensland, Australia. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Use of entomopathogenic fungi to control Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) and increase agricultural productivity: Can tech-enabled attract-and-infect trapping devices increase fruit yield? (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Physiology and Ecology of Cubozoa (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• An investigation into Australian scorpion venoms (PhD , External Advisor)

Completed

• Effects of land use on butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) abundance and diversity in the tropical coastal regions of Guyana and Australia (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

• Forbes, S. (2016) Increased pollinator habitat enhances cacao fruit set and predator conservation. James Cook University
• Forbes, S. (2016) Oecophylla smaragdina ants provide pest control in Australian cacao. James Cook University

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.