Last Updated: 22 December 2020

Predicting the effects of environmental change on natural ecosystems

My work examines the effect of anthropogenic change on ecological networks representing interactions between species in a community. I aim to develop new techniques for analysing large and complex multispecies data. By bridging theory and empirical work, I hope to advance our understanding of community ecology and improve our ability to predict the effects of environmental change on natural ecosystems.

Selected publications

• Baldock, K.C.R., Goddard, M.A., Hicks, D.M., Kunin, W.E., Mitschunas, N., Morse, H., Osgathorpe, L.M., Potts, S.G., Robertson, K.M., Scott, A.V., Staniczenko, P.P.A., Stone, G.N., Vaughan, I.P. & Memmott, J. 2019
  A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities
  Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 363–373
  Link   PDF


• Staniczenko, P.P.A., Lewis, O.T., Tylianakis, J.M., Albrecht, M., Coudrain, V., Klein, A.-M. & Reed-Tsochas, F. 2017
  Predicting the effect of habitat modification on networks of interacting species
  Nature Communications, 8, 792
  Link   PDF   Supplementary Information   Code


• Staniczenko, P.P.A., Sivasubramaniam, P., Suttle, K.B. & Pearson, R.G. 2017
  Linking macroecology and community ecology: Refining predictions of species distributions using biotic interaction networks
  Ecology Letters, 20, 693–707
  Link   PDF   Supplementary Files   Code


• Staniczenko, P.P.A., Kopp, J.C. & Allesina, S. 2013
  The ghost of nestedness in ecological networks
  Nature Communications, 4, 1931
  Link   PDF   Supplementary Information   Code


• Staniczenko, P.P.A., Lewis, O.T., Jones, N.S. & Reed-Tsochas, F. 2010
  Structural dynamics and robustness of food webs
  Ecology Letters, 13, 891–899
  Link   PDF

Current positions

• 2019– Assistant Professor. Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY)
• 2019– Faculty member. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB) PhD Subprogram, The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
• 2013– Associate Research Fellow. CABDyN Complexity Centre at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Previous positions

• 2016–2019 Research Fellow. National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC)
• 2016–2017 Postdoctoral Researcher. Fagan Lab, Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2013–2015 Research Fellow. Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London
• 2013–2014 Consultant. Urban Pollinators Project, Memmott Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
• 2011–2013 Postdoctoral Researcher. Allesina Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago

Education

• 2007–2010 DPhil Condensed Matter Physics, University of Oxford (Wolfson College). Department of Physics and CABDyN Complexity Centre at Saïd Business School
• 2003–2007 MPhys Undergraduate Master of Physics, First Class Honours, University of Oxford (St. Anne's College)

Grants

• 2018 "Next-generation ecological network theory and application" $20k. Santa Fe Institute Working Group. Principal Investigator: P.P.A. Staniczenko
• 2016–2018 "Predicting the effect of socioeconomic and environmental change on the structure of biotic interactions and the provision of ecosystem services" $215k. National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center Research Fellowship. International Competition, Principal Investigator: P.P.A. Staniczenko
• 2014–2015 "How do food webs respond to bottom-up changes driven by habitat modification?" £19,800. British Ecological Society Large Research Grant. Principal Investigator: P.P.A. Staniczenko
• 2013–2015 "How accurately can we predict species extinction and reintroduction? Embracing ecological complexity to assess risk in ecosystems" €120k. AXA Postdoctoral Fellowship. International Competition, Principal Investigator: P.P.A. Staniczenko
• 2007–2010 "Complex Systems and Networks Research Scholarship" $80k. Awarded by the Helsinki University of Technology, International Competition

Awards and Prizes

• 2021 Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP) award to design and execute scholarly publications, $4k
• 2021 Certificate in Effective Online Teaching Practices from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)
• 2015 Top Referee in 2014 recognition. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• 2010 David Ryan Prize for distinguished work by a graduate student in Physics, University of Oxford
• 2007 Data Connection Prize for the best use of software in an MPhys Thesis, University of Oxford
• 2006 Clayman Scholarship to work in quantitative finance in New York City, $10k
• 2004–2007 Scholar, highest undergraduate academic honour, St. Anne's College, University of Oxford

Academic Service

• 2018– Recommender for Peer Community in Ecology (equivalent to a traditional journal editor but for free and public scientific publications)
• 2018 Executive Board, Inclusive Ecology Section, Ecological Society of America
• 2017– Reviewer for Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
• 2015– Reviewer and Panelist for National Science Foundation (NSF)
• 2014– Reviewer for Natural Environment Research Council UK (NERC)
• 2010– Reviewer for over 30 peer-review journals: Ecology Letters, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Ecology, Ecology & Evolution, Methods in Ecology & Evolution, Global Change Biology, J Animal Ecology, Theoretical Ecology, Basic & Applied Ecology, Oikos, Ecography, Global Ecology & Biogeography, Diversity & Distributions, Biological Conservation, Ecological Modelling, J Theoretical Biology, Biology Letters, PLOS Biology, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS ONE, Theory in Biosciences, Diversity, Complexity, PeerJ, Nature Scientific Reports, Current Biology, Microbiome, Physical Review E, Physical Review X, J Royal Society Interface

Institutional Service

• 2020– Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB) Steering Committee. CUNY Graduate Center
• 2020– Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB) Admissions Committee. CUNY Graduate Center
• 2019– University Faculty Senate. CUNY
• 2019– University Faculty Council. Brooklyn College, CUNY
• 2019– Chair, Committee on Review of Student Records. Brooklyn College, CUNY
• 2018–2023 Special Member of the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. University of Maryland, College Park
• 2017–2019 Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee, Faculty Representative (Elected). University of Maryland, College Park
• 2017–2019 Mentoring Sub-Committee, Chair. University of Maryland, College Park
• 2017–2019 University Senate, Postdoc Representative (Elected twice). University of Maryland, College Park
• 2004–2005 Physics Joint Consultative Committee, Undergraduate Representative (Elected). University of Oxford

Outreach

• 2020 Educational Video. Writer, producer, and presenter of Introduction to Ecological Networks
• 2019 Panelist. Transitioning to a Faculty Position, Postdoctoral Research Symposium, 13 September, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2018 Panel Moderator. Transitioning to a Faculty Position, Postdoctoral Research Symposium, 17 September, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2018 Planning Committee. Graduate Career Pathways Conference, 20 April, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2018 Judge. Graduate Research Appreciation Day, 4 April, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2017 Judge. Graduate Research Appreciation Day, 5 April, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2009 Exhibition Curator. Transforming Space, Denys Wilkinson Building, 7–9 May, University of Oxford
• 2009 Workshop Organiser. Process in Physics and Art, 12 February, Department of Physics and Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford
• 2008 Highschool Mentor. Maths, ages 10–12, Cherwell School, Oxford

Teaching

• 2020– Organizer. BIOL7910G: Biology Colloquium, 14 weeks. Arrange seminar series and mark student summaries of talks, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• 2020– Lecturer. BIOL3030W: Scientific Writing, 14 weeks. Communicating science to decision-makers and the public (originated course), Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• 2020– Lecturer. BIOL3083: Principles of Ecology, 14 weeks. Fundamental topics in ecology (originated course), Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• 2019– Lecturer. BIOL76001: Ecology, 14 weeks. Fundamental and contemporary topics in ecology (originated course), CUNY Graduate Center
• 2019– Lecturer. BICM87001: Bioinformatics with computing practicum, 14 weeks. Scientific computing for biologists (4 weeks, originated course), CUNY Graduate Center
• 2019– Lecturer. Introduction to Social and Ecological Networks Analysis, one week. NSF Advanced Training Course, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC)
• 2019 Lecturer. Statistics and Scientific Computing, two-day course. NSF Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment (BUEE) Program
• 2014 Lecturer. Introduction to Ecological Modelling, 5–7 November. NERC Advanced Training Short Course, University College London
• 2014 Lecturer. Workshop on Networks in Ecology, 19–23 May. Norrbyn, Sweden
• 2008–2010 Lecturer. Quantitative Methods in Biology, two-day course. MSc Integrative Biosciences, University of Oxford
• 2008–2009 Demonstrator. Introduction to C programming, four-day course. MPhys Physics, University of Oxford

Supervision

• 2020– PhD committee, Aislyn Keyes. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Boulder Colorado
• 2020– PhD committee, Laura Bogess. Plant Sciences, New York Botanical Garden
• 2020– PhD committee, Connor French. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB), City College, City University of New York
• 2020– Supervisor, Chia-Hua Lue. Postdoctoral researcher, Staniczenko lab, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• 2020– PhD co-supervisor, Grégoire Proudhom. Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences
• 2020– Undergraduate project mentor, Chrismal Abraham. Computer and Information Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• 2020– PhD committee, Erica Johnson. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB), City College, City University of New York
• 2019– PhD committee, Jennifer Zhu. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB), Baruch College, City University of New York
• 2019 NSF Summer REU mentor, Quiana Berry. Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment (BUEE) Program
• 2019– PhD committee, Gonzalo Enrique Pinilla Buitrago. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB), City College, City University of New York
• 2018– PhD committee, Humberto Castillo Gonzalez. Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2018 Undergraduate project mentor, Peter Thompson. Statistics, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2017 Undergraduate project mentor, Samantha Berman. Biology, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2015 Undergraduate research intern, Elise Damstra, Staniczenko lab, University College London
• 2015 PhD project mentor, Teresa Attenborough. Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University College London
• 2014 PhD project mentor, Andrew Maher. Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University College London
• 2014 Postdoctoral research mentor, Francesco Caravelli. Staniczenko lab, University College London
• 2014 Master's project mentor, Sameen Khan. Mathematics, University College London

Publications (Underlined authors were mentored students)

14. Timm, C.M., Loomis, K., Stone, W., Mehoke, T., Brensinger, B., Pellicore, M., Staniczenko, P.P.A., Charles, C., Nayak, S. & Karig, D. 2020
    Isolation and characterization of diverse microbial representatives from the human skin microbiome
    Microbiome, 8, 58
    Link   PDF


13. Thompson, P.R., Fagan, W.F. & Staniczenko, P.P.A. 2020
    Predictor species: Modelling environmental co-responses to improve assessments of rare species occurrence
    Ecology & Evolution, 10, 3293–3304
    Link   PDF   Code


12. Alexander*, S.M., Staniczenko*, P.P.A. & Bodin, Ö. 2020
    *Joint first authors
    Social ties explain catch portfolios of small-scale fishers in the Caribbean
    Fish & Fisheries, 21, 120–131
    Link   PDF   Code


11. Baldock, K.C.R., Goddard, M.A., Hicks, D.M., Kunin, W.E., Mitschunas, N., Morse, H., Osgathorpe, L.M., Potts, S.G., Robertson, K.M., Scott, A.V., Staniczenko, P.P.A., Stone, G.N., Vaughan, I.P. & Memmott, J. 2019
    A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities
    Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 363–373
    Link   PDF


10. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Suttle, K.B. & Pearson, R.G. 2018
    Negative biotic interactions drive predictions of distributions for species from a grassland community
    Biology Letters, 14, 20180426
    Link   PDF   Supplementary Information   Code


9. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Lewis, O.T., Tylianakis, J.M., Albrecht, M., Coudrain, V., Klein, A.-M. & Reed-Tsochas, F. 2017
   Predicting the effect of habitat modification on networks of interacting species
   Nature Communications, 8, 792
   Link   PDF   Supplementary Information   Code


8. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Sivasubramaniam, P., Suttle, K.B. & Pearson, R.G. 2017
   Linking macroecology and community ecology: Refining predictions of species distributions using biotic interaction networks
   Ecology Letters, 20, 693–707
   Link   PDF   Supplementary Files   Code


7. Bewick*, S., Staniczenko*, P.P.A., Li, B., Karig, D. & Fagan, W.F. 2017
   *Joint first authors
   Invasion speeds in microbial systems with toxin production and quorum sensing
   Journal of Theoretical Biology, 420, 290–303
   Link  


6. Caravelli*, F. & Staniczenko*, P.P.A. 2016
   *Joint first authors
   Bounds on transient instability for complex ecosystems
   PLOS ONE, 11, 6
   Link


5. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Smith, M.J. & Allesina, S. 2014
   Selecting food web models using normalized maximum likelihood
   Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 5, 551–562
   Link  


4. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Kopp, J.C. & Allesina, S. 2013
   The ghost of nestedness in ecological networks
   Nature Communications, 4, 1931
   Link   PDF   Supplementary Information   Code


3. De Sassi, C., Staniczenko, P.P.A. & Tylianakis, J.M. 2012
   Warming and nitrogen affect size structuring and density dependence in a host-parasitoid food web
   Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 367, 3033–3041
   Link   PDF   Supplementary Information


2. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Lewis, O.T., Jones, N.S. & Reed-Tsochas, F. 2010
   Structural dynamics and robustness of food webs
   Ecology Letters, 13, 891–899
   Link   PDF


1. Staniczenko, P.P.A., Lee, C.-F. & Jones, N.S. 2009
   Rapidly detecting disorder in rhythmic biological signals: A spectral entropy measure to identify cardiac arrhythmias
   Physical Review E, 79:011915
   Link   PDF   Supplementary Information


0. Staniczenko, P.P.A. 2011
   Structure, dynamics, and robustness of ecological networks
   Doctoral Thesis, University of Oxford
   Link   PDF

Thanks to Frederic L. Pryor for the design idea for this website.