Dr Ian McFadden
Lecturer in Computational Ecology
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Research
global ecology, artificial intelligence, computer vision, species interactions, community ecology, biogeography
Interests
Ian is currently interested in using computer vision and machine learning to study and conserve species interactions from local communities to the scale of the whole earth, among other things.
You can learn more about his current and previous research, teaching and outreach at mcfaddenecology.com
Publications

Publications of specific relevance to the Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainability
2024
Futureproofing Europe’s forestsMcFadden IR
Nature Ecology & Evolution,
Springer Nature vol. 8 (6), 1064-1065.
29-04-2024
Warming underpins community turnover in temperate freshwater and terrestrial communitiesKhaliq I Rixen C Zellweger F Graham CH Gossner MM McFadden IR Antão L Brodersen J et al.
Nature Communications,
Springer Nature vol. 15 (1)
01-03-20242023
The geography of climate and the global patterns of species diversityCoelho MTP Barreto E Rangel TF Diniz-Filho JAF Wüest RO Bach W McFadden IR Pellissier L et al.
Nature,
Springer Nature vol. 622 (7983), 537-544.
27-09-2023
Utilizing multi-objective decision support tools for protected area selectionVoskamp A Fritz SA Köcke V Biber MF Brockmeyer TN Bertzky B Forrest M Goldstein A et al.
One Earth,
Elsevier vol. 6 (9), 1143-1156.
01-09-2023
Paleoenvironments shaped the exchange of terrestrial vertebrates across Wallace’s LineSkeels A Boschman LM McFadden IR Joyce EM Hagen O Bach W Boussange V Keggin T et al.
Science,
American Association For The Advancement of Science (Aaas) vol. 381 (6653), 86-92.
06-07-2023
Hummingbird community structure and nectar resources modulate the response of interspecific competition to forest conversionGuevara EA Bello C Poveda C McFadden IR
Oecologia,
Springer Nature vol. 201 (3), 761-770.
09-02-20232022
Linking human impacts to community processes in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystemsMcFadden IR Sendek A Brosse M Bach PM Baity‐Jesi M Bolliger J Bollmann K Brockerhoff EG et al.
Ecology Letters,
Wiley vol. 26 (2), 203-218.
22-12-2022
Climate, immigration and speciation shape terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity in the European Alpsde Queiroz LJ Doenz CJ Altermatt F Alther R Borko Š Brodersen J Gossner MM Graham C et al.
Proceedings of The Royal Society B,
The Royal Society vol. 289 (1980)
10-08-2022
Global plant‐frugivore trait matching is shaped by climate and biogeographic historyMcFadden IR Fritz SA Zimmermann NE Pellissier L Kissling WD Tobias JA
Ecology Letters,
Wiley vol. 25 (3), 686-696.
24-02-20222019
TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open accessKattge J Bönisch G Díaz S Lavorel S Prentice IC Leadley P Tautenhahn S Werner GDA et al.
Global Change Biology,
Wiley vol. 26 (1), 119-188.
31-12-2019
Temperature shapes opposing latitudinal gradients of plant taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversityMcFadden IR Sandel B Svenning J Enquist BJ
Ecology Letters,
Wiley vol. 22 (7), 1126-1135.
07-05-2019
Neither species geographic range size, climatic envelope, nor intraspecific leaf trait variability capture habitat specialization in a hyperdiverse Amazonian forestFortunel C Valencia R Kraft NJB
Biotropica,
Wiley vol. 51 (3), 304-310.
09-04-2019
Disentangling the functional trait correlates of spatial aggregation in tropical forest treesMcFadden IR Bartlett MK Wiegand T Turner BL Sack L
Ecology,
Wiley vol. 100 (3)
21-02-20192011
Beginning a Fourth Year of Tropical Conservation Science with OJS, a New Publishing PlatformEstrada A Butler R
Tropical Conservation Science,
Sage Publications vol. 4 (1), i-iii.
01-03-2011
Linking human impacts to community processes in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystemsMcFadden IR Sendek A Brosse M Bach PM Baity-Jesi M Bolliger J Bollmann K Brockerhoff EG et al.
In
Authorea
Utilizing multi-objective decision support tools for protected area selectionVoskamp A Fritz SA Köcke V Biber MF Brockmeyer TN Bertzky B Forrest M Goldstein A et al.
In
Biorxiv
Global plant-frugivore trait matching is shaped by climate and biogeographic historyMcFadden IR Fritz SA Zimmermann NE Pellissier L Kissling WD Tobias JA Schleuning M Graham CH
In
Biorxiv
The interaction of climate history and evolution impacts alpine biodiversity assembly differently in freshwater and on landJardim-deQueiroz L Doenz CJ Altermatt F Alther R Borko Š Brodersen J Gossner MM Graham C et al.
In
Biorxiv
Global hotspots of recent and ancestral turnover in birdsMcFadden IR Coelho MTP Wüest RO Cassemiro FAS Zimmermann NE Pellissier L Rangel TF Graham CH
In
Research Square
Research Group
PhD Students
- Aimee Du Luart
Automating Species Interaction Classification in Marine And