Brian Pickles

Email:
b.j.pickles@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
0118 378 7955
Job title:
Associate Professor

Responsibilities:

Zoology Admissions Tutor
Deputy Director of Postgraduate Studies
PhD Supervisor
SBS Research Coordinator for EcoValley Woodland

Areas of interest

Biodiversity; Herpetology; Palaeoecology; Plant-fungal symbioses; Spatial ecology

Responses of mycorrhizal symbioses to global change processes
Reptile community and population ecology (modern and palaeo)
Spatial and temporal dynamics of species, biodiversity, and ecosystems
Host-symbiont interactions and nutrient dynamics
Integrating soil ecology into forest management practices

Postgraduate supervision

PhD students:

Meg Cathcart-James
Alex Dean
Petra Guy
André Parise
Audra Richter
Tomos Jones (Main supervisor: Dr. Alastair Culham)
Vicky Jones (Main supervisor: Dr. Alejandra Perotti)
Gilka Rocha da Silva (Main supervisor: Prof. Mark Tibbett)
Corrina Thomsen (Main supervisor: Dr Jason Pither, UBCO)

MSc by Research students:

Sean Herridge-Berry (Main supervisor: Prof. Derek Peddle, University of Lethbridge)

Teaching

Module convener:

BI2ERD4 Reptiles and Dinosaurs (Autumn term, 10 credits)
BI3PRFC Palaeoecology Research Field Course (Summer, 20 credits)
BI3CP8 Palaeoecology (Spring term, 10 credits)

Contributed lectures and/or tutorials:

BI1BEA2 Current Topics in Zoology and Ecology
BI1EAB1 Animal Diversity
BI1EC2 Ecology
BI2EZ45 Key Skills in Ecology and Zoology
BI2MBC Marine Biology and Conservation
BI3EW8 Conservation Biology

Research centres and groups

The Mother Tree Project

Research projects

Digging into the "Gadgil effect": how the competitive balance between fungal guilds affects carbon and nitrogen cycling. Natural Environment Research Council (Standard Grant). Co-Investigator (2022-2025)
Real-time acoustic biodiversity monitoring with the BioAcoustic Index Tool (Pilot Study). Woodland Trust (Small Research Grant). Primary Investigator (2022-2023)
Establishing a Research Woodland for the University of Reading. University of Reading (Research Endowment Trust Fund). Co-Investigator (2021-2022)
Lichens, drones, and dinosaur bones. University of Reading (SBS Seed Fund). Collaboration with Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology and University of Lethbridge. Primary Investigator (2020-present)
Future forests and wild woods: modelling the responses of trees to climate, land-use, soils and mycorrhizal symbioses. Natural Environment Research Council (QMEE CDT PhD Studentship). Primary Investigator (2018-2022)
InfruTreeCity: Understanding Infrared radiative performance of urban trees for better future cities. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Research Grant). Co-Investigator (2018-2022)
Examining the ecology of drought resilience in the native woodlands of Central Texas. University of Reading (SBS Seed Fund) and City of Austin Water. Collaboration with City of Austin Water and St. Edward’s University. Primary Investigator (2017-present)
British Garden Plants: A Threat to the Natural Environment Due to Climate Change? Natural Environment Research Council (SCENARIO DTP PhD Studentship). Co- Investigator (2017-2022)
Designing successful forest renewal strategies for our changing climate. Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Strategic Projects Grant). Co-Investigator (2016-2019)

Professional bodies/affiliations

Affiliate Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Canada
Affiliate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, Canada
Associate Member of the School of Graduate Studies, University of Lethbridge, Canada

National and international collaborators

Forest ecology / Mycorrhizal ecology

Dr Elena Vanguelova, Forest Research, UK
Dr Nadia Barsoum, Forest Research, UK

Prof Suzanne Simard, University of British Columbia, Canada
Prof Les Lavkulic, University of British Columbia, Canada
Prof Bill Mohn, University of British Columbia, Canada
Dr Jason Pither, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, Canada
Prof Miranda Hart, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, Canada
Dr Gregory O'Neill, BC Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations, Canada
Lisa O'Donnell, City of Austin Water, USA
Emeritus Prof Keith Egger, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada

Palaeoecology / Palaeontology

Dr Philip Bell, University of New England, Australia
Dr Caleb Brown, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Canada
Darren Tanke, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Canada
Prof Derek Peddle, University of Lethbridge, Canada
Prof Craig Coburn, University of Lethbridge, Canada
Prof Jack Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Dr Alejandro Ordonez, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Prof Rolf Mathewes, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Bax R. Barton, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, USA

Herpetology

Kathy Wormald, Froglife, UK
Chanel Comis, Wildlife Sense, Kefalonia, Greece

Impact, Enterprise and Outreach

Rare dinosaur skin fossil discovered in Alberta. September 2022. CBC News: The National (Canada)
Skin deep: How a unique fossil find brought together an international team. September 2022. News Feature, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (Alberta, Canada)
Fossil discovery could be rare complete dinosaur skeleton. September 2022. University of Reading News, also covered by news and websites across the UK and around the world.
The Future is Fungal. March 2019. Guest speaker at The Wheeler Centre (Melbourne, Australia) with Gavin McIntyre of Ecovative.
Save the turtles, save ourselves? May 2019. Pint of Science: Our Shared Planet (Reading, UK)
The Magic of Mushrooms. March 2019 Invited Speaker at WOMADelaide Planet Talks series in Australia

Publications

Jones, T. , Culham, A. ORCID: 0000-0002-7440-0133 , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , David, J. (2023) How do gardeners define ‘invasive’? Implications for invasion science and environmental policy instruments on invasive species. Environmental Science and Policy ISSN: 1873-6416

Cathcart-James, M. , Foster, C. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 (2022) Challenging assumptions about burial ground biodiversity using flying beetles as indicators in urban areas. Journal of Urban Ecology , 8 (1). ISSN: 2058-5543 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jue/juac024
Robinson, A. , Defrenne, C. , Roach, W. , Dymond, C. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Simard, S. (2022) Harvesting intensity and aridity are more important than climate change in affecting future carbon stocks of Douglas-fir forests. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change , 5 ISSN: 2624-893X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2022.934067
Guy, P. , Sibly, R. ORCID: 0000-0001-6828-3543 , Smart, S. , Tibbett, M. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 (2022) Mycorrhizal type of woody plants influences understory species richness in British broadleaved woodlands. New Phytologist , 235 (5). pp. 2046-2053. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.18274
Aleklett, K. , Rosa, D. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Hart, M. (2022) Community assembly and stability in the root microbiota during early plant development. Frontiers in Microbiology , 13 ISSN: 1664-302X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.826521
Rai, J. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Perotti, M. ORCID: 0000-0002-3769-7126 (2022) The impact of the decomposition process of shallow graves on soil mite abundance. Journal of Forensic Sciences , 67 (2). pp. 605-618. ISSN: 0022-1198 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14906

Roach, W. , Simard, S. , Defrenne, C. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Lavkulich, L. , Ryan, T. (2021) Tree diversity, site index, and carbon storage decrease with aridity in Douglas-fir forests in western Canada. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change , 4 ISSN: 2624-893X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.682076
Rai, J. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Perotti, M. ORCID: 0000-0002-3769-7126 (2021) Assemblages of Acari in shallow burials: mites as markers of the burial environment, of the stage of decay and of body-cadaver regions.. Experimental and Applied Acarology , 85 pp. 247-276. ISSN: 0168-8162 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10493-021-00663-x
Senapathi, D. ORCID: 0000-0002-8883-1583 , Fründ, J. , Albrecht, M. , Garratt, M. , Kleijn, D. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Potts, S. ORCID: 0000-0002-2045-980X , An, J. , Andersson, G. , Bänsch, S. , Basu, P. , Benjamin, F. , Bezerra, A. , Bhattacharya, R. , Biesmeijer, J. , Blaauw, B. , Blitzer, E. , Brittain, C. , Carvalheiro, L. , Cariveau, D. , Chakraborty, P. , Chatterjee, A. , Chatterjee, S. , Cusser, S. , Danforth, B. , Degani, E. , Freitas, B. , Garibaldi, L. , Geslin, B. , de Groot, G. , Harrison, T. , Howlett, B. , Isaacs, R. , Jha, S. , Klatt, B. , Krewenka, K. , Leigh, S. , Lindström, S. , Mandelik, Y. , McKerchar, M. , Park, M. , Pisanty, G. , Rader, R. , Reemer, M. , Rundlöf, M. , Smith, B. , Smith, H. , Silva, P. , Steffan-Dewenter, I. , Tscharntke, T. , Webber, S. , Westbury, D. , Wickens, J. , Wickens, V. , Winfree, R. , Zhang, H. , Klein, A. (2021) Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities.. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , 288 (1947). ISSN: 0962-8452 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0212
Deng, J. ORCID: 0000-0001-6896-8622 , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Shao, L. (2021) In-situ spectroscopy and shortwave radiometry reveals spatial and temporal variation in the crown-level radiative performance of urban trees. Remote Sensing of Environment , 253 ISSN: 0034-4257 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.112231

Simard, S. , Roach, W. , Defrenne, C. , Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Snyder, E. , Robinson, A. , Lavkulic, L. (2020) Harvest intensity effects on carbon stocks and biodiversity are dependent on regional climate in Douglas-fir forests of British Columbia. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change , 3 (88). ISSN: 2624-893X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00088
Deng, J. , Pickles, B. , Smith, S. , Shao, L. (2020) Infrared radiative performance of urban trees: spatial distribution and interspecific comparison among ten species in the UK by in-situ spectroscopy. Building and Environment , 172 ISSN: 0360-1323 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106682
O'Donnell, L. , Pickles, B. , Campbell, M. , Moulton, L. , Hauwert, N. , Gorzelak, M. (2020) Native tree and shrub canopy facilitates oak seedling regeneration in semiarid woodland. Ecosphere , 11 (2). ISSN: 2150-8925 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3017
Pickles, B. , Truong, C. , Watts-Williams, S. , Bueno, C. (2020) Mycorrhizae for a sustainable world. New Phytologist , 225 (3). pp. 1065-1069. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.16307

Defrenne, C. , Philpott, T. , Guichon, S. , Roach, W. , Pickles, B. , Simard, S. (2019) Shifts in ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and exploration types relate to the environment and fine-root traits across interior Douglas-fir forests of western Canada. Frontiers in Plant Science , 10 ISSN: 1664-462X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00643
Deng, J. , Pickles, B. , Kavakopoulos, A. , Blanusa, T. , Halios, C. , Smith, S. , Shao, L. (2019) Concept and methodology of characterising infrared radiative performance of urban trees using tree crown spectroscopy. Building and Environment , 157 pp. 380-390. ISSN: 0360-1323 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.04.056

Pither, J. , Pickles, B. , Simard, S. , Ordonez, A. , Williams, J. (2018) Below-ground biotic interactions moderated the postglacial range dynamics of trees. New Phytologist , 220 (4). pp. 1148-1160. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.15203

Pither, J. and Pickles, B. (2017) The paleosymbiosis hypothesis: host plants can be colonized by root symbionts that have been inactive for centuries to millenia. FEMS Microbiology Ecology , 93 (6). ISSN: 1574-6941 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fix061
Pickles, B. and Simard, S. (2017) Mycorrhizal networks and forest resilience to drought. In: Johnson, N. , Gehring, C. , Jansa, J. , (eds.) Mycorrhizal Mediation of Soil - Fertility, Structure, and Carbon Storage. Elsevier , Amsterdam. pp. 319-339. ISBN: 9780128043127 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804312-7.00018-8
Gorzelak, M. , Pickles, B. , Hart, M. (2017) Exploring the symbiont diversity of ancient western redcedars: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of long-lived hosts. Molecular Ecology , 26 (6). pp. 1586-1597. ISSN: 0962-1083 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.14023
Pickles, B. , Wilhelm, R. , Asay, A. , Hahn, A. , Simard, S. , Mohn, W. (2017) Transfer of 13C between paired Douglas-fir seedlings reveals plant kinship effects and uptake of exudates by ectomycorrhizas. New Phytologist , 214 (1). pp. 400-411. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.14325

Pickles, B. and Anderson, I. (2016) Spatial ecology of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. In: Martin, F. , (eds.) Molecular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Wiley pp. 363-386. ISBN: 9781118951415 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118951446.ch20

Hart, M. , Aleklett, K. , Chagnon, P. , Egan, C. , Ghignone, S. , Helgason, T. , Lekberg, Y. , Öpik, M. , Pickles, B. , Waller, L. (2015) Navigating the labyrinth: a guide to sequence-based, community ecology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytologist , 207 (1). pp. 235-247. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.13340
Pickles, B. , Gorzelak, M. , Green, D. , Egger, K. , Massicotte, H. (2015) Host and habitat filtering in seedling root-associated fungal communities: taxonomic and functional diversity are altered in ‘novel’ soils. Mycorrhiza , 25 (7). pp. 517-531. ISSN: 0940-6360 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-015-0630-y
Gorzelak, M. , Asay, A. , Pickles, B. , Simard, S. (2015) Inter-plant communication through mycorrhizal networks mediates complex adaptive behaviour in plant communities. AoB Plants , 7 ISSN: 2041-2851 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plv050
Pickles, B. , Twieg, B. , O'Neill, G. , Mohn, W. , Simard, S. (2015) Local adaptation in migrated interior Douglas-fir seedlings is mediated by ectomycorrhizas and other soil factors. New Phytologist , 207 (3). pp. 858-871. ISSN: 0028-646X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.13360

Pickles, B. and Pither, J. (2014) Still scratching the surface: how much of the ‘black box’ of soil ectomycorrhizal communities remains in the dark?. New Phytologist , 201 (4). pp. 1101-1105. ISSN: 0028-646X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.12616

Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Egger, K. , Massicotte, H. , Green, D. (2012) Ectomycorrhizas and climate change. Fungal Ecology , 5 (1). pp. 73-84. ISSN: 1754-5048 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2011.08.009
Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Genney, D. , Anderson, I. , Alexander, I. (2012) Spatial analysis of ectomycorrhizal fungi reveals that root tip communities are structured by competitive interactions. Molecular Ecology , 21 (20). pp. 5110-5123. ISSN: 1365-294X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05739.x

Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Genney, D. , Potts, J. , Lennon, J. , Anderson, I. , Alexander, I. (2010) Spatial and temporal ecology of Scots pine ectomycorrhizas. New Phytologist , 186 (3). pp. 755-768. ISSN: 1469-8137 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03204.x

Pickles, B. ORCID: 0000-0002-9809-6455 , Genney, D. , Alexander, I. , Anderson, I. (2009) Spatial ecology of ectomycorrhizas: analytical strategies. Mycorrhizas - Functional Processes and Ecological Impact. Mycorrhizas – Functional Processes and Ecological Impact pp. 155-165. ISBN: 9783540879770 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87978-7_11

Brian Pickles

Areas of interest

Postgraduate supervision

PhD students:

MSc by Research students:

Teaching

Module convener:

Contributed lectures and/or tutorials:

Research centres and groups

Research projects

Professional bodies/affiliations

National and international collaborators

Forest ecology / Mycorrhizal ecology

Palaeoecology / Palaeontology

Herpetology

Impact, Enterprise and Outreach

Publications

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2012

2010

2009