Hi, my names Catherine (they/them) and I'm an ecologist studying the impacts of climate change on forests and alpine plants.
The study area of my current project is the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan, where warming temperatures is facilitating the altitudinal advance of plant species upper-range limits and the upslope movement of the treeline. Increasing establishment of tree species above the treeline and greater competition with more generalist species, however, is placing many alpine plant species at risk of extinction. My project aims to determine the current distribution of alpine plant species and habitat within the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan, and to model the vulnerability of these distributions to future climate warming and treeline advance. I will work closely with the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI) in Taiwan, helping to inform conservation management planning. Guan-Sheng Ecosystem Ltd. is an industrial partner to this project. My project is part of the IAPETUS2 doctoral training programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Article
Mercer C, Comeau VM, Daniels LD & Carrer M (2022) Contrasting Impacts of Climate Warming on Coastal Old-Growth Tree Species Reveal an Early Warning of Forest Decline. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4, Art. No.: 775301. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.775301
Article
Watts SH, Mardon DK, Mercer C, Watson D, Cole H, Shaw RF & Jump AS (2022) Riding the elevator to extinction: Disjunct arctic-alpine plants of open habitats decline as their more competitive neighbours expand. Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109620