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Peter Bellingham

Senior Researcher
Ecosystems & Conservation
Peter Bellingham
Location
Lincoln
Contact Peter

Research interests

Areas of interest

Temperate and tropical forest ecology, especially long-term (decadal) dynamics in forests and effects of disturbance.

Ecological consequences of biological invasions, and the interactions between biological invasions and natural disturbance.

Development and implementation of inventory and monitoring systems for terrestrial biodiversity for national and international reporting

Ecological restoration of island and coastal ecosystems.

Books

Walker, L.R. & Bellingham, P. 2011. Island Environments in a Changing World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. ISBN: 9780521732475

Mulder, C.P.H., Anderson, W.B., Towns, D.R. & Bellingham P.J. (eds.) 2011 Seabird islands: ecology, invasions, and restoration. Oxford University Press, New York, U.S.A. ISBN: 9780199735693

Recent publications

Nguyen, H., Bellingham, P.J., Padamsee, M. & Schwendenmann, L. 2024. A non-native pathogen meets a native host: Austropuccinia psidii infection reduces photosynthesis and alters non-structural carbohydrates in seedlings of Metrosideros excelsa. Trees, in press.

Elliott, T.A.W., Bellingham, P.J., Perry, G.L.W. & Burns, B.R. 2024. A virulent soil pathogen alters temperate rain forest understorey sapling population dynamics and successional trajectories. Journal of Vegetation Science, in press.

Barton, K.E., Ibanez, T., Bellingham, P.J. & Moreira, X. 2024. Island plant fire tolerance: functional traits associated with novel disturbance regimes. American Journal of Botany, in press. 

Jo, I., Bellingham, P.J., Richardson, S.J., Hawcroft, A. & Wright, E.F. 2024. Tree demographic drivers across temperate rain forests, after accounting for species-, stem-, and site-level attributes. Ecology, e4471, doi: 10.1002/ecy.4471.

McCarthy, J.K., Bellingham, P.J., Jo, I., Grelet G.-A., Bartlett, M., Buxton, R.P., Fergus A.J., Fraser, S., Peace, J., Probst, C.M. & Padamsee, M. 2025. Environmental drivers of spatial variation in myrtle rust development on a critically endangered tree species. Biological Conservation, 301, 110902, doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110902.

Simpkins, C.E., Bellingham, P.J., Reihana, K., Brock, J.M.R. & Perry, G.L.W. 2025. Evaluating the effects of two newly emerging plant pathogens on northern Aotearoa–New Zealand forests using an individual-based model. Ecological Modelling, 500, 110938, doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2024.110938.

Nguyen, H., Bellingham, P.J., Fergus, A., McCarthy, J.K., Padamsee, M. & Schwendenmann, L. 2024. Comparing forest carbon fluxes at locations with different land-use histories and restoration strategies. Plant and Soil, in press, doi: 10.1007/s11104-024-06844-y.

McCarthy, J.K., Richardson, S.J., Jo, I., Wiser, S.K., Easdale, T.A., Shepherd, J.D. & Bellingham, P.J. 2024. A functional assessment of community vulnerability to the loss of Myrtaceae from myrtle rust. Diversity and Distributions, 30, e13928, doi: 10.1111/ddi.13928.

Allen, R.B., MacKenzie, D.I., Wiser, S.K., Bellingham, P.J., Burrows, L.E. & Coomes, D.A. 2024. A growth–survival trade-off along an elevation gradient is altered by earthquake disturbance in a monodominant southern-beech forest. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e70467, doi: 10.1002/ece3.70467.

Jo, I., Bellingham, P.J., Mason, N.W.H., McCarthy, J.K., Peltzer, D.A., Richardson, S.J. & Wright, E.F. 2024. Disturbance-mediated community characteristics and anthropogenic pressure intensify understorey plant invasions in natural forests. Journal of Ecology, 112, 1856-1871, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.14367.

Nogales, M., McConkey, K.R., Carlo, T.A., Wotton, D.M., Bellingham, P.J., Traveset, A., González-Castro, A., Heleno, R., Watanabe, K., Ando, H., Rogers, H., Heinen, J.H. & Drake, D.R. 2024. A review on the state of the art in frugivory and seed dispersal on islands and the implications of global change. Botanical Review, 90, 160-185, doi: 10.1007/s12229-023-02996-8.

Lai, H.R., Bellingham, P.J., McCarthy, J.K., Richardson, S.J., Wiser, S.K. & Stouffer, D.B. 2024. Detecting non-additive biotic interactions and assessing their biological relevance among temperate rainforest trees. American Naturalist, 204, 105-120, doi: 10.1086/730807.

Mologni, F., Bellingham, P.J., Cameron, E.K. & Wright, A.E. 2024. Time since first naturalization is key to explaining non-native plant invasions on islands. Journal of Biogeography, 51, 1340-1350, doi: 10.1111/jbi.14825.

Swann, D.E.B., Bellingham, P.J. & Martin, P.H. 2024. Cyclone–fire interactions enhance fire extent and severity in a tropical montane pine forest. Ecosystems, 27, 559-576, doi: 10.1007/s10021-024-00906-z. 

Hawcroft, A.L., Bellingham, P.J., Jo, I., Richardson, S.J. & Wright, E.F. 2024. Are populations of trees threatened by non-native herbivores more secure in New Zealand's national parks? Biological Conservation, 295, 110637, doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110637.

Ibanez, T., Bauman, D., Aiba, S.-I., Arsouze, T., Bellingham, P.J., Birkinshaw, C., Birnbaum, P., Curran, T.J., DeWalt, S.J., Dwyer, J., Fourcaud, T. , Franklin, J., Kohyama , T.S., Menkes, C., Metcalfe, D.J., Murphy, H., Muscarella, R., Plunkett, G.M., Sam, C., Tanner, E., Taylor, B.N., Thompson, J., Ticktin, T., Tuiwawa, M.V., Uriarte, M., Webb, E.L., Zimmerman, J.K. & Keppel, G. 2024. Damage to tropical forests caused by cyclones is driven by wind speed but mediated by topographical exposure and tree characteristics. Global Change Biology , 30, e17317, doi: 10.1111/gcb.17317.

Wyse, S.V., Carlin, T.F., Etherington, T.R., Faruk, A., Dickie, J.B. & Bellingham, P.J. 2024. Can seed banking assist in conserving the highly endemic New Zealand indigenous flora? Pacific Conservation Biology, 30, PC23029, doi: 10.1071/PC23029.

Gonzalez, A., Vihervaara, P., Balvanera, P., Bates, A.E., Bayraktarov, E., Bellingham, P.J., Bruder, A., Campbell, J., Catchen, M.D., Cavender-Bares, J., Chase, J., Coops, N., Costello, M.J., et al. 2023. A Global Biodiversity Observing System to unite monitoring and guide action. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 7, 1947-1952, doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02171-0.

Brandt, A.J., Png, G.K., Jo, I., McGrannachan, C., Allen, K., Peltzer, D.A., D'Antonio, C., Dickie, I.A., French, K., Leishman, M.R., Ostertag, R., Parker, I.M., Stanley, M.C., Suding, K.N. & Bellingham, P.J. 2023. Managing multi-species plant invasions when interactions influence their impact. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 21, 370-379, doi: 10.1002/fee.2658.

Allen, K., Bellingham, P.J., Richardson, S.J., Allen, R.B., Burrows, L.E., Carswell, F.E., Husheer, S.W., St. John, M.G. & Peltzer, D.A. 2023. Long-term exclusion of invasive ungulates alters tree recruitment and functional traits but not total forest carbon. Ecological Applications, 33, e28366, doi: 10.1002/eap.2836

Bellingham, P.J., Arnst, E.A., Clarkson, B.D., Etherington, T.R., Forester, L.J., Shaw, W.B., Sprague, R., Wiser, S.K. & Peltzer, D.A. 2023. The right tree in the right place? A major economic tree species poses major ecological threats. Biological Invasions, 25, 39-60, doi: 10.1007/s10530-022-02892-6.

Swann, D.E.B., Bellingham, P.J. & Martin, P.H. 2023. Resilience of a tropical montane pine forest to fire and severe droughts. Journal of Ecology, 111, 90-109, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.14017.

Fridley, J.D., Bellingham, P.J., Closset-Kopp, D., Daehler, C.C., Dechoum, M.S., Martin, P.H., Murphy, H.T., Rojas-Sandoval, J. & Tng, D. 2023. A general hypothesis of forest invasions by woody plants based on whole-plant carbon economics. Journal of Ecology, 111, 4-22, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.14001.

Wiser, S.K., McCarthy, J.K., Bellingham, P.J., Jolly, B., Meiforth, J.J. & Warawara Komiti Kaitiaki 2022. Integrating plot-based and remotely-sensed data to map vegetation types in a New Zealand warm temperate rainforest. Applied Vegetation Science, 25, e12695, doi: 10.1111/avsc.12695.

Ibanez, T., Platt, W.J., Bellingham, P.J., Vieilledent, G., Franklin, J., Martin, P.H., Menkes, C., Pérez Salicrup, D.R., Russell-Smith, J. & Keppel, G. 2022. Altered cyclone–fire interactions are changing ecosystems. Trends in Plant Science, 27, 1218-1230, doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.08.005.

Tanner, E.V.J., Bellingham, P.J., Healey, J.R. & Feeley, K.J. 2022. Hurricane disturbance accelerated the thermophilization of a Jamaican montane forest. Ecography, 2022, e06100, doi: 10.1111/ecog.06100.

Mologni, F., Bellingham, P.J., Cameron, E.K., Dinh, K., Wright, A.E. & Burns, K.C. 2022. Functional traits explain non-native plant species richness and occupancy on northern New Zealand islands. Biological Invasions, 24, 2135-2154, doi: 10.1007/s10530-022-02762-1.

McGlone, M.S., Bellingham, P.J. & Richardson, S.J. 2022. Science, policy, and sustainable indigenous forestry in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science, 52, 8, doi: 10.33494/nzjfs522022x182x.

Godsoe, W., Bellingham, P.J. & Moltchanova, E. 2022. Disentangling niche theory and beta diversity change. American Naturalist, 199, 510-522, doi: 10.1086/718592.

Jo, I., Bellingham, P.J., McCarthy, J.K., Easdale, T., Padamsee, M., Wiser, S.K. & Richardson, S.J. 2022. Ecological importance of the Myrtaceae in New Zealand's natural forests. Journal of Vegetation Science, 33, e13106, doi: 10.1111/jvs.13106.

Walker, S., Bellingham, P.J., Kaine, G., Richardson, S., Greenhalgh, S., Simcock, R., Brown, M.A., Stephens, T. & Lee, W.G. 2021. What effects must be avoided, remediated or mitigated to maintain indigenous biodiversity? New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 45, 3445, doi: 10.20417/nzjecol.45.26.

Mologni, F., Bellingham, P.J., Tjørve, E., Cameron, E.K., Wright, A.E. & Burns, K.C. 2021. Similar yet distinct distributional patterns characterize native and exotic plant species richness across northern New Zealand islands. Journal of Biogeography, 48, 1731-1745, doi: 10.1111/jbi.14110.

Lambers, H., Wright, I.J., Pereira, C.G., Bellingham, P.J., Bentley, L.P., Boonman, A., Cernusak, L.A., Foulds, W., Gleason, S.M., Gray, E.F., Hayes, P.E., Kooyman, R.M., Malhi, Y., Richardson, S.J., Shane, M.W., Staudinger, C., Stock, W.D., Swarts, N.D., Turner, B.L., Turner, J., Veneklaas, E.J., Wasaki, J., Westoby, M. & Xu, Y. 2020. Leaf manganese concentrations as a tool to assess belowground plant functioning in phosphorus-impoverished environments. Plant and Soil, 461, 43-61, doi: 10.1007/s11 104-020-04690-2.

Brandt, A.J., Bellingham, P.J., Duncan, R.P., Etherington, T.R., Fridley, J.D., Howell, C.J., Hulme, P.E., Jo, I., McGlone, M.S., Richardson, S.J., Sullivan, J.J., Williams, P.A. & Pelzer, D.A. 2021. Naturalised plants transform the composition and function of the New Zealand flora. Biological Invasions, 23, 351-366, doi: 10.1007/s10530-020-02393-4

McCarthy, J.K., Wiser, S.K., Bellingham, P.J., Beresford, R.M., Campbell, R.E., Turner, R. & Richardson, S.J. 2021. Using spatial models to identify refugia and guide restoration in response to an invasive plant pathogen. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58, 192-201, doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13756.

Wright, E.F., Bellingham, P.J., Richardson, S.J., McKay, M., MacLeod, C.J. & McGlone, M.S. 2020. How to get a national biodiversity monitoring of the ground: lessons from New Zealand. Parks, 26 (2), 67-78, doi: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.PARKS-26-2EFW.en

Bellingham, P.J., Richardson, S.J., Gormley, A.M., Allen, R.B., Cook, A., Crisp, P.N., Forsyth, D.M., McGlone, M.S., McKay, M., MacLeod, C.J., van Dam-Bates, P. & Wright, E.F. 2020. Implementing integrated measurements of Essential Biodiversity Variables at a national scale. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 1, e12025, doi: 10.1002/2688-8319.12025.

Burge, O.R., Bellingham, P.J., Arnst, E.A., Bonner, K.I., Burrows, L.E., Richardson, S.J., Wiser, S.K., Wood, J.R. & Wilmshurst, J.M. 2020. Integrating palaeoecological and permanent plot data to determine subalpine post-fire succession, recovery and convergence over 128 years. Journal of Vegetation Science, 31, 755-767, doi: 10.1111/jvs.12887.

McGlone, M.S., McNutt, K., Richardson, S.J., Bellingham, P.J., & Wright, E.F. 2020. Biodiversity monitoring, ecological integrity, and the design of the New Zealand Biodiversity Assessment Framework. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 44, 3411, doi: 10.20417/nzjecol.44.17.

Laughlin, D.C., Delzon, S., Clearwater, M.J., Bellingham, P.J., McGlone, M.S. & Richardson, S.J. 2020. Climatic limits of temperate rainforest tree species are explained by xylem embolism resistance among angiosperms but not among conifers. New Phytologist, 226,727-740, doi: 10.1111/nph.16448.

Allen, R.B., MacKenzie, D.I., Bellingham, P.J., Wiser, S.K., Arnst, E.A., Coomes, D.A. & Hurst, J.M. 2020. Tree survival and growth responses in the aftermath of a strong earthquake. Journal of Ecology, 108, 107-122, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.13238.

Peltzer, D.A., Bellingham, P.J., Dickie, I.A., Houliston, G., Hulme, P.E., Lyver, P.O'B., McGlone, M., Richardson, S.J. & Wood, J. 2019. Scale and complexity implications of making New Zealand predator-free by 2050. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 49, 412-439, doi: 10.1080/03036758.2019.1653940.

McLaren, K., Luke, D., Tanner, E.V.J., Bellingham, P.J. & Healey, J.R. 2019. Reconstructing the effects of hurricanes over 155 years on the structure and diversity of trees in two tropical montane rainforests in Jamaica. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 276-277, 107621, doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107621.

Castro-Díez, P., Vaz, A.S., Silva, J.S., van Loo, M., Alonso, A., Aponte, C., Bayon, A., Bellingham, P.J., Chiuffo, M.C., DiManno, N., Julian, K., et al. 2019. Global effects of non-native tree species on multiple ecosystem services. Biological Reviews, 94, 1477-1501, doi: 10.1111/brv.12511.

Qualifications

Cambridge
PhD Plant Sciences
1993

Canterbury
BForSc Forest Ecology
1982

Auckland
BSc Botany
1980

Publications

Ramsey DSL, Forsyth DM, Veltman CJ, Nicol SJ, Todd CR, Allen RB, Allen WJ, Bellingham PJ, Richardson SJ, Jacobson CL, Barker RJ 2012. An approximate Bayesian algorithm for training fuzzy cognitive map models of forest responses to deer control in a New Zealand adaptive management experiment. Ecological modelling 240(0): 93-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.04.022

Catford JA, Daehler CC, Murphy HT, Sheppard AW, Hardesty BD, Westcott DA, Rejmánek M, Bellingham PJ, Pergl J, Horvitz CC, Hulme PE 2012. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis and plant invasions: Implications for species richness and management. Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics 14(3): 231-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2011.12.002

Towns DR, Bellingham PJ, Mulder CPH, Lyver PO 2012. A research strategy for biodiversity conservation on New Zealand’s offshore islands. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 36(1): 1-20.

Cernusak LA, Adie H, Bellingham PJ, Biffin E, Brodribb TJ, Coomes DA, Dalling JW, Dickie IA, Enright NJ, Kitayama K, Ladd PG, Lambers H, Lawes MJ, Lusk CH, Morley RJ, Turner BL 2011. Podocarpaceae in tropical forests: a synthesis. In: Turner BL, Cernusak LA ed. Ecology of the podocarpaceae in tropical forests. Smithsonian Contributrions to Botany. 95. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution

Coomes DA, Bellingham PJ 2011. Temperate and tropical podocarps: how ecologically alike are they? . In: Turner BL, Cernusak LA ed. Ecology of the Podocarpaceae in tropical forests. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 95. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution. Pp. 119-145

Dalling JW, Barkan P, Bellingham PJ, Healy JR, Tanner EVJ 2011. Ecology and distribution of Neotropical Podocarpaceae. In: Turner BL, Cernusak LA ed. Ecology of the Podocarpaceae in tropical forests. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 95. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution. Pp. 43-56

Hilton RG, Meunier P, Hovius N, Bellingham PJ, Galy A 2011. Landslide impact on organic carbon cycling in a temperate montane forest. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 36(12): 1670–1679. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2191

Memberships

  • Editorial Board Member, New Zealand Journal of Ecology
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Ecology