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ABOUT ME

 I am Christine Sheppard, a plant ecologist with a research focus on biological invasions. Invasions by alien species are both fascinating and of great importance because they pose major threats to biodiversity, but also act as a natural experiment providing many insights about ecological and evolutionary processes. My main research objectives include understanding biotic interactions between native and alien species as well as among multiple invaders, predicting the long-term dynamics of plant invasions, and testing potential synergistic effects with various other factors of global change. To better understand the eco-evolutionary mechanisms associated with such invasion dynamics, I combine multi-species experiments and field studies with macroecological analyses. Beyond invasions, I am generally interested in biotic interactions, effects of global change and conservation of plant diversity.

CURRICULUM VITAE

  • 04/2022: Habilitation and venia legendi in Plant Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Germany. Habilitation thesis on “Eco-evolutionary dynamics of plant invasions in novel biotic and abiotic contexts”
  • Since 05/2014: Senior Research Associate, Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology, University of Hohenheim, Germany (01-04 & 09-12/2017; 01-05 & 08-12/2020; 12/2021-04/2022 & 07-12/2022: maternal leave; 12/2022-12/2024: working 80% part-time)
  • 04/2010 - 09/2013 (defence 04/2014): PhD in Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. PhD thesis on “Potential distribution and invasiveness of recently naturalised alien plants under climate change”. Recipient of The University of Auckland International Doctoral Scholarship
  • 11/2008 - 12/2009: Backpacking South and Central America, and overlanding Africa
  • 10/2006 - 10/2008: Master of Science ETH in Environmental Sciences (with Major in Ecology and Evolution), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland. MSc thesis on “The influence of elevated temperature and extreme weather events on native plant communities and their invasion by native and alien plant species”
  • 10/2006 - 03/2007: Internship at the Department of Conservation, Hokitika, New Zealand
  • 10/2003 - 10/2006: Bachelor of Science ETH in Environmental Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
Aerial view of the Heidfeldhof experimental field site in Stuttgart, where I conduct my multi-species experiments. Middle: experiment on long-term dynamics of plant invasions (involving 1250 mesocosms), bottom: experiment on alien-alien interactions (1400 pots). Picture by V. Ferenc.