Profile
Loading content
Dr Orly Razgour
Senior Lecturer in Ecology
7681
01392 727681
Hatherly C13B
Hatherly Building, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
Overview
I am a molecular ecologist and conservation biologist, researching evolutionary and ecological responses to global environmental change.
My research sits at the interface between ecology, molecular biology, evolutionary biology and physical geography. I aim to understand how environmental heterogeneity at different spatial and temporal scales affects geographical distributions, genetic composition and ecological interactions. I carry out multidisciplinary research, combining genomic tools with ecological research and spatial, ecological and mathematical modelling. My research is applied in nature, aiming to provide the evidence base for managing our environment and conserving biodiversity. Much of my research has focused on bats as indicators of environmental change.
My group is involved in projects across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia.
Qualifications
2013 PhD Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
2008 MSc Ecology, Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University
2006 BSc Biodiversity Conservation, DICE, University of Kent
Career
2019 – Present Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter
2016 – 2019 Lecturer, University of Southampton
2015 – 2021 NERC Independent Research Fellow
2015 – Present Associated Researcher, CIBIO/InBio. University of Porto
2013 – 2015 Impact Research Fellow, University of Stirling
2013 GIS Specialist, Bat Conservation Trust
Research group links
Research
Research interests
My research programme addresses biodiversity responses to global environmental changes through four main areas of investigation:
1. Genomic approaches to studying species responses to climate 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, metagenomics) and combine population genomics and ecological approaches to identify signatures of climatic adaptations and project their effects on population persistence. My research focuses on the role of phenotypic plasticity and the gut microbiota versus genetic adaptations in facilitating species responses to climate change.
2. Relating landscape and environmental heterogeneity to movement processes
Geographic and environmental features of the landscape can structure genetic variation via their effect on dispersal and gene flow. Landscape genetics offers an interdisciplinary approach for relating spatial genetic patterns to the effects of environmental heterogeneity on the movement of organisms. I am particularly interested in the effects of anthropogenic land use changes and fragmentation on landscape connectivity and movement, and relating landscape connectivity to species’ range shifts under future climate change.
3. Ecological interactions and resource partitioning across spatial scales
My research group develops approaches to integrate interspecific interactions into broad-scale distribution models and fine-scale analysis of community composition and ecological requirements. We also use DNA metabarcoding to identify fine-scale patterns of trophic and habitat partitioning among competing species.
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 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 networks
UK Collaborators
- Prof Rebecca Hoyle, Dr Kelvin Peh (University of Southampton)
- Prof Justin Travis, Dr Great Bocedi (University of Aberdeen)
- Prof Gareth Jones (University of Bristol)
- Prof Kirsty Park, Dr John Taggart, Dr Michael Bekaert (University of Stirling)
- Dr Elizabeth Clare (Queen Mary University of London)
- Dr Emma Stone (University of the West of England)
- Bat Conservation Trust
European Collaborators
- Prof Stephanie Manel (Centre of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, CNRS)
- Dr Javier Juste, Prof Carlos Ibáñez (Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC)
- Dr Hugo Rebelo (CIBIO, University of Porto)
- Dr Antton Alberdi, Prof Thomas Gilbert (University of Copenhagen)
- Prof Danilo Russo (University of Naples Federico II)
- Dr Sébastien Puechmaille (Montpellier University)
International Collaborators
- Dr Brenna Forester (Colorado State University)
- Dr Erin Landguth (University of Montana)
- Dr Nathan Schumaker (US Environmental Protection Agency, Oregon State University)
- Dr Bruna Bezerra (Federal University of Pernambuco)
- Prof Carmi Korine (Ben-Gurion University)
- Dr Mohammed Kasso (Dire Dawa University)
- Bats without Borders
Research grants
- 2019 EU COST Action
Climate change and bats: from science to conservation (CLIMBATS) - 2019 NERC
Pilot project grant: Identifying the genomic basis of adaptations to arid environments in bats - 2019 NERC
INSPIRE NERC DTP PhD studentship: Investigating the effects of environmental change on tropical montane bats - 2018 FCT (Portugal)
BatPine: Promoting the resilience of ecosystem services to climate change: a case study with pine plantations, pine processionary moth and bats - 2018 NERC
SPITFIRE NERC DTP PhD Studentship: Factors affecting the distribution of cryptic anurans in Malaysian montane forests - 2017 NERC
SPITFIRE NERC DTP PhD Studentship: How will greening the desert affect bats and the ecosystem services they provide? - 2017 Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Biodiversity Information for Development Grant: Mobilising Bat Occurrence Data in Zambia - 2015 NERC Advanced Fellowship
Developing an integrated framework for investigating biodiversity responses to global environmental change - 2014 British Ecological Society (UK)
Up in the air: researching ecological connectivity in sky island bats of the Ethiopian Highlands - 2014 Rufford Foundation
Using genetic tools to assess the conservation status of cave-dwelling bats in southern Africa - 2014 Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society
Early Career Researcher Exchanges Grant - 2013 University of Stirling Impact Fellowship
Fight or flight: The spatial genomics of bat species response to climate change
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Novella-Fernandez R, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Rebelo H, Russo D, Alberdi A, Kiefer A, Graham L, Paul H, Doncaster CP, et al (In Press). Broad-scale patterns of geographic avoidance between species emerge in the absence of fine-scale mechanisms of coexistence. Diversity and Distributions: a journal of conservation biogeography Full text.
Alberdi A, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Novella-Fernandez R, Aihartza J, Budinski I, Garin I, Ibáñez C, Izagirre E, Rebelo H, et al (In Press). Diet diversification shapes broad-scale distribution patterns in European bats. Abstract.
Moraes B, Razgour O, Souza- Alves JP, Boubli J, Bezerra B (In Press). Habitat suitability for primate conservation in
north-east Brazil. Oryx: journal of fauna and flora international
Novella-Fernandez R, Ibañez C, Juste J, Clare EL, Doncaster CP, Razgour O (In Press). Trophic resource partitioning drives fine-scale coexistence in cryptic bat species. Ecology and Evolution Full text.
Riley J, Zeale MRK, Razgour O, Turpin J, Jones G (2021). Predicting the past, present and future distributions of an endangered marsupial in a semi‐arid environment. Animal Conservation, 24(5), 890-903. Full text.
Aizpurua O, Nyholm L, Morris E, Chaverri G, Herrera Montalvo LG, Flores-Martinez JJ, Lin A, Razgour O, Gilbert MTP, Alberdi A, et al (2021). The role of the gut microbiota in the dietary niche expansion of fishing bats. Animal Microbiome, 3(1). Abstract. Full text.
Rocha R, Aziz SA, Brook CE, Carvalho WD, Cooper‐Bohannon R, Frick WF, Huang JC, Kingston T, López‐Baucells A, Maas B, et al (2020). Bat conservation and zoonotic disease risk: a research agenda to prevent misguided persecution in the aftermath of COVID‐19. Animal Conservation, 24(3), 303-307. Full text.
Alberdi A, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Novella-Fernandez R, Aihartza J, Budinski I, Garin I, Ibanez C, Izagirre E, Rebelo H, et al (2020). DNA metabarcoding and spatial modelling link diet diversification with distribution homogeneity in European bats. Nature Communications, 11 Full text.
White R, Razgour O (2020). Emerging zoonotic diseases originating in mammals: a systematic review of effects of anthropogenic land-use change. Mammal Review, 50, 336-352. Full text.
Razgour O, Kasso M, Santos H, Juste J (2020). Up in the air: threats to Afromontane biodiversity from climate change and habitat loss revealed by genetic monitoring of the Ethiopian Highlands bat. Evolutionary Applications: evolutionary approaches to environmental, biomedical and socio-economic issues, 14, 794-806. Full text.
Centeno‐Cuadros A, Razgour O, García‐Mudarra JL, Mingo‐Casas P, Sandonís V, Redondo A, Ibáñez C, Paz O, Martinez‐Alós S, Pérez Suarez G, et al (2019). Comparative phylogeography and asymmetric hybridization between cryptic bat species. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 57(4), 1004-1018. Full text.
Razgour O, Forester B, Taggart JB, Bekaert M, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Puechmaille SJ, Novella-Fernandez R, Alberdi A, Manel S, et al (2019). Considering adaptive genetic variation in climate change vulnerability assessment reduces species range loss projections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10418-10423. Abstract.
Amorim F, Razgour O, Mata VA, Lopes S, Godinho R, Ibáñez C, Juste J, Rossiter SJ, Beja P, Rebelo H, et al (2019). Evolutionary history of the European free‐tailed bat, a tropical affinity species spanning across the Mediterranean Basin. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58(1), 499-518. Full text.
Razgour O, Taggart JB, Manel S, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Rebelo H, Alberdi A, Jones G, Park K (2018). An integrated framework to identify wildlife populations under threat from climate change. Mol Ecol Resour, 18(1), 18-31. Abstract. Author URL.
Vasconcelos R, Razgour O, Tarroso P, Fasola M, Carranza S, Alves PC (2018). Combining molecular and landscape tools for targeting evolutionary processes in reserve design: an approach for islands. PLOS ONE, 13(7), e0200830-e0200830.
Razgour O, Persey M, Shamir U, Korine C (2018). The role of climate, water and biotic interactions in shaping biodiversity patterns in arid environments across spatial scales. Diversity and Distributions, 24(10), 1440-1452. Full text.
Razgour O, Rebelo H, Di Febbraro M, Russo D (2016). Painting maps with bats: Species distribution modelling in bat research and conservation. Hystrix, 27(1). Abstract.
Jones M, Bertola LD, Razgour O (2016). Predicting the effect of interspecific competition on habitat suitability for the endangered african wild dog under future climate and land cover changes. Hystrix, 27(1). Abstract.
Razgour O (2015). Beyond species distribution modeling: a landscape genetics approach to investigating range shifts under future climate change. Ecological Informatics, 30, 250-256. Abstract.
Alberdi A, Gilbert MTP, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Aihartza J, Garin I (2015). Contrasting population-level responses to Pleistocene climatic oscillations in an alpine bat revealed by complete mitochondrial genomes and evolutionary history inference. Journal of Biogeography, 42(9), 1689-1700. Abstract.
Razgour O, Salicini I, Ibáñez C, Randi E, Juste J (2015). Unravelling the evolutionary history and future prospects of endemic species restricted to former glacial refugia. Molecular Ecology, 24(20), 5267-5283. Abstract.
Razgour O, Rebelo H, Puechmaille SJ, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Kiefer A, Burke T, Dawson DA, Jones G (2014). Scale-dependent effects of landscape variables on gene flow and population structure in bats. Diversity and Distributions, 20(10), 1173-1185. Abstract.
Hope PR, Bohmann K, Gilbert MTP, Zepeda-Mendoza ML, Razgour O, Jones G (2014). Second generation sequencing and morphological faecal analysis reveal unexpected foraging behaviour by Myotis nattereri (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in winter. Front Zool, 11 Abstract. Author URL.
Razgour O, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Kiefer A, Rebelo H, Puechmaille SJ, Arlettaz R, Burke T, Dawson DA, Beaumont M, et al (2013). The shaping of genetic variation in edge-of-range populations under past and future climate change. Ecol Lett, 16(10), 1258-1266. Abstract. Author URL.
Razgour O, Korine C, Saltz D (2011). Does interspecific competition drive patterns of habitat use in desert bat communities?. Oecologia, 167(2), 493-502. Abstract.
Razgour O, Clare EL, Zeale MRK, Hanmer J, Schnell IB, Rasmussen M, Gilbert TP, Jones G (2011). High-throughput sequencing offers insight into mechanisms of resource partitioning in cryptic bat species. Ecol Evol, 1(4), 556-570. Abstract. Author URL.
Razgour O, Hanmer J, Jones G (2011). Using multi-scale modelling to predict habitat suitability for species of conservation concern: the grey long-eared bat as a case study. Biological Conservation, 144(12), 2922-2930.
Razgour O, Korine C, Saltz D (2010). Pond characteristics as determinants of species diversity and community composition in desert bats. Animal Conservation, 13(5), 505-513.
Publications by year
In Press
Novella-Fernandez R, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Rebelo H, Russo D, Alberdi A, Kiefer A, Graham L, Paul H, Doncaster CP, et al (In Press). Broad-scale patterns of geographic avoidance between species emerge in the absence of fine-scale mechanisms of coexistence. Diversity and Distributions: a journal of conservation biogeography Full text.
Alberdi A, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Novella-Fernandez R, Aihartza J, Budinski I, Garin I, Ibáñez C, Izagirre E, Rebelo H, et al (In Press). Diet diversification shapes broad-scale distribution patterns in European bats. Abstract.
Moraes B, Razgour O, Souza- Alves JP, Boubli J, Bezerra B (In Press). Habitat suitability for primate conservation in
north-east Brazil. Oryx: journal of fauna and flora international
Novella-Fernandez R, Ibañez C, Juste J, Clare EL, Doncaster CP, Razgour O (In Press). Trophic resource partitioning drives fine-scale coexistence in cryptic bat species. Ecology and Evolution Full text.
Horta P, Raposeira H, Vaz AS, António J, Juste J, Razgour O, Rebelo H (In Press). What about Adaptive Introgression? the Genomic Revolution is Shaping Scientific and Public Perception. Abstract.
2021
Riley J, Zeale MRK, Razgour O, Turpin J, Jones G (2021). Predicting the past, present and future distributions of an endangered marsupial in a semi‐arid environment. Animal Conservation, 24(5), 890-903. Full text.
Aizpurua O, Nyholm L, Morris E, Chaverri G, Herrera Montalvo LG, Flores-Martinez JJ, Lin A, Razgour O, Gilbert MTP, Alberdi A, et al (2021). The role of the gut microbiota in the dietary niche expansion of fishing bats. Animal Microbiome, 3(1). Abstract. Full text.
Aizpurua O, Nyholm L, Morris E, Chaverri G, Montalvo LGH, Flores-Martinez JJ, Lin A, Razgour O, Gilbert MTP, Alberdi A, et al (2021). The role of the gut microbiota in the dietary niche expansion of fishing bats.
2020
Rocha R, Aziz SA, Brook CE, Carvalho WD, Cooper‐Bohannon R, Frick WF, Huang JC, Kingston T, López‐Baucells A, Maas B, et al (2020). Bat conservation and zoonotic disease risk: a research agenda to prevent misguided persecution in the aftermath of COVID‐19. Animal Conservation, 24(3), 303-307. Full text.
Alberdi A, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Novella-Fernandez R, Aihartza J, Budinski I, Garin I, Ibanez C, Izagirre E, Rebelo H, et al (2020). DNA metabarcoding and spatial modelling link diet diversification with distribution homogeneity in European bats. Nature Communications, 11 Full text.
White R, Razgour O (2020). Emerging zoonotic diseases originating in mammals: a systematic review of effects of anthropogenic land-use change. Mammal Review, 50, 336-352. Full text.
Razgour O (2020). Plecotus austriacus Species Complex (P. austriacus, P. kolombatovici, P. gaisleri, P. teneriffae). In Hackländer K, Zachos F (Eds.) Handbook of the Mammals of Europe, Springer. Abstract. Full text.
Fernandez RN, ez CI, Juste J, Clare B, Doncaster CP, Razgour O (2020). Trophic resource partitioning drives fine-scale coexistence in cryptic bat species.
Razgour O, Kasso M, Santos H, Juste J (2020). Up in the air: threats to Afromontane biodiversity from climate change and habitat loss revealed by genetic monitoring of the Ethiopian Highlands bat. Evolutionary Applications: evolutionary approaches to environmental, biomedical and socio-economic issues, 14, 794-806. Full text.
Razgour O, Kasso M, Santos H, Juste J (2020). Up in the air: threats to Afromontane biodiversity from climate change and habitat loss revealed by modelling and landscape genetics of the Ethiopian Highlands long-eared bat.
2019
Centeno‐Cuadros A, Razgour O, García‐Mudarra JL, Mingo‐Casas P, Sandonís V, Redondo A, Ibáñez C, Paz O, Martinez‐Alós S, Pérez Suarez G, et al (2019). Comparative phylogeography and asymmetric hybridization between cryptic bat species. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 57(4), 1004-1018. Full text.
Razgour O, Forester B, Taggart JB, Bekaert M, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Puechmaille SJ, Novella-Fernandez R, Alberdi A, Manel S, et al (2019). Considering adaptive genetic variation in climate change vulnerability assessment reduces species range loss projections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10418-10423. Abstract.
Amorim F, Razgour O, Mata VA, Lopes S, Godinho R, Ibáñez C, Juste J, Rossiter SJ, Beja P, Rebelo H, et al (2019). Evolutionary history of the European free‐tailed bat, a tropical affinity species spanning across the Mediterranean Basin. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58(1), 499-518. Full text.
2018
Razgour O, Taggart JB, Manel S, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Rebelo H, Alberdi A, Jones G, Park K (2018). An integrated framework to identify wildlife populations under threat from climate change. Mol Ecol Resour, 18(1), 18-31. Abstract. Author URL.
Vasconcelos R, Razgour O, Tarroso P, Fasola M, Carranza S, Alves PC (2018). Combining molecular and landscape tools for targeting evolutionary processes in reserve design: an approach for islands. PLOS ONE, 13(7), e0200830-e0200830.
Razgour O, Persey M, Shamir U, Korine C (2018). The role of climate, water and biotic interactions in shaping biodiversity patterns in arid environments across spatial scales. Diversity and Distributions, 24(10), 1440-1452. Full text.
2016
Razgour O, Rebelo H, Di Febbraro M, Russo D (2016). Painting maps with bats: Species distribution modelling in bat research and conservation. Hystrix, 27(1). Abstract.
Jones M, Bertola LD, Razgour O (2016). Predicting the effect of interspecific competition on habitat suitability for the endangered african wild dog under future climate and land cover changes. Hystrix, 27(1). Abstract.
2015
Razgour O (2015). Beyond species distribution modeling: a landscape genetics approach to investigating range shifts under future climate change. Ecological Informatics, 30, 250-256. Abstract.
Alberdi A, Gilbert MTP, Razgour O, Aizpurua O, Aihartza J, Garin I (2015). Contrasting population-level responses to Pleistocene climatic oscillations in an alpine bat revealed by complete mitochondrial genomes and evolutionary history inference. Journal of Biogeography, 42(9), 1689-1700. Abstract.
Razgour O, Salicini I, Ibáñez C, Randi E, Juste J (2015). Unravelling the evolutionary history and future prospects of endemic species restricted to former glacial refugia. Molecular Ecology, 24(20), 5267-5283. Abstract.
2014
Razgour O, Rebelo H, Puechmaille SJ, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Kiefer A, Burke T, Dawson DA, Jones G (2014). Scale-dependent effects of landscape variables on gene flow and population structure in bats. Diversity and Distributions, 20(10), 1173-1185. Abstract.
Hope PR, Bohmann K, Gilbert MTP, Zepeda-Mendoza ML, Razgour O, Jones G (2014). Second generation sequencing and morphological faecal analysis reveal unexpected foraging behaviour by Myotis nattereri (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in winter. Front Zool, 11 Abstract. Author URL.
2013
Razgour O, Juste J, Ibáñez C, Kiefer A, Rebelo H, Puechmaille SJ, Arlettaz R, Burke T, Dawson DA, Beaumont M, et al (2013). The shaping of genetic variation in edge-of-range populations under past and future climate change. Ecol Lett, 16(10), 1258-1266. Abstract. Author URL.
2011
Razgour O, Korine C, Saltz D (2011). Does interspecific competition drive patterns of habitat use in desert bat communities?. Oecologia, 167(2), 493-502. Abstract.
Razgour O, Clare EL, Zeale MRK, Hanmer J, Schnell IB, Rasmussen M, Gilbert TP, Jones G (2011). High-throughput sequencing offers insight into mechanisms of resource partitioning in cryptic bat species. Ecol Evol, 1(4), 556-570. Abstract. Author URL.
Razgour O, Hanmer J, Jones G (2011). Using multi-scale modelling to predict habitat suitability for species of conservation concern: the grey long-eared bat as a case study. Biological Conservation, 144(12), 2922-2930.
2010
Razgour O, Korine C, Saltz D (2010). Pond characteristics as determinants of species diversity and community composition in desert bats. Animal Conservation, 13(5), 505-513.
Orly_Razgour Details from cache as at 2022-01-19 12:25:18
External Engagement and Impact
Awards
2014 – John Marsden Medal for best UK doctoral thesis in Biology, The Linnean Society of London
2013 – Faculty of Science Commendation for outstanding PhD thesis, University of Bristol
2012 – Vincent Weir Scientific Award for contribution to bat conservation research
2012 – Student talk prize Population Genetics Group Meeting, Glasgow
2011 – Student talk prize Ecological Genetics Group Meeting, London
2008 – Merav Ziv Award, Ben-Gurion University
2007 – Frederick Siegmund Prize, Ben-Gurion University
Advice to Government, Parliament, devolved and English regional administrations, other national, international, regional or local agencies; advice to non-government organisations and to private practice
Trustee of the Bat Conservation Trust
Chair British Ecological Society Climate Change Ecology Special Interest Group
Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for UNEP EUROBATS Agreement
Natural England, Favourable Conservation Status reporting
EU Habitat Directive Article 17 reporting
Editorial responsibilities
Senior Editor Diversity and DIstributions
Associate Editor Journal of Applied Ecology
Editorial Board Mammal Review
Supervision / Group
Postgraduate researchers
- Connor Butler 2018-2022 NERC DTP PhD University of Southampton: Factors affecting the distribution of cryptic anurans in Malaysian montane forests
- Penelope Fialas Valuing ecosystem services provided by UK bats under climate change; GW4 PhD studentship
- Pedro Horta 2017-2021 PhD, CIBIO, University of Porto: Hybridisation as adaptive process of cryptic bat species to climate change
- Erik Omar Mata Guel 2019-2022 CONACyT funded PhD University of Southampton: Effects of climate change on tropical montane forests
- Evie Morris 2017-2021 NERC DTP PhD, University of Southampton: How will greening the desert affect bats and the ecosystem services they provide?
- Roberto Novella-Fernandez 2016-2020 PhD University of Southampton: Investigating the role of ecological interactions in shaping species distributions and range shifts under climate change
- Cristian Pizzigalli 2021-2025 - FCT PhD scholarship, CIBIO, University of Porto
- Peter Syme 2019-2023 NERC DTP PhD University of Southampton: Investigating the effects of environmental change on tropical montane bats