Dr Orly Razgour

I am an Associate Professor in Global Change Ecology and Director of Equality Diversity and Inclusion. My research integrates genomic, ecological and modelling approaches to understand biodiversity responses to global environmental changes. 

My research research sits at the interface between ecology, molecular biology, evolutionary biology and biogeography, using multidisciplinary approaches to understand how environmental heterogeneity at different spatial and temporal scales affects geographic distribution, genetic composition, ecological interactions and spread of zoonotic diseases. My research is applied in nature, providing the evidence base for managing our environment and conserving biodiversity. Much of the research in my group has focused on bats as indicators of environmental change.

Research interests:

1. Molecular Ecology: using genomic approaches to investigate species responses to global environmental change

Understanding the genetic basis of environmental adaptations is essential for predicting biodiversity responses to global change. I use genomic datasets (ddRAD-sequencing, RNA-sequencing, whole genome sequencing, metagenomics) and combine population genomics and ecological approaches to identify signatures of environmental adaptations and project their effects on population persistence. This strand of research also focuses on the role of phenotypic plasticity and the gut microbiota versus genetic adaptations in facilitating species responses to environmental change.

2. OneHealth: integrating genomic and ecological approaches to understand impacts of global change on the spread of zoonotic diseases

My research aims to understand the factors affecting pathogen transmission across climate and human-impacted landscapes, through researching how the landscape and environmental heterogeneity affect host movement and pathogen exposure. The ecology of species is at the heart of understanding risk of zoonotic disease spread and spillover. 

3. Ecological interactions, resource partitioning and ecosystem services across spatial scales

My research integrates interspecific interactions into broad-scale distribution models and fine-scale analysis of community composition and ecological requirements, using DNA metabarcoding to identify fine-scale patterns of trophic and habitat partitioning among competing species and ecosystem services.

4. Biogeography and evolutionary history

Understanding how past climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene affected the distribution of species and patterns of genetic variation across their ranges can help predict biodiversity responses to future changes. My research combines genetic/genomic and environmental data with spatial modelling and approximate Bayesian computation model-based inference to determine how past climatic changes shaped the evolutionary history and biogeography of species with different distributions and ecological requirements.

Research Groups

Healthy & Sustainable Environments