Craig Liddicoat
School of Public Health
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Craig Liddicoat is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. Craig's research interests include environmental microbiomes, spatial epidemiology, and developing knowledge of beneficial connections between human health and exposure to biodiverse vegetation-soil systems. In particular, the role that exposure to (and loss of) biodiverse green space may play in developing immune fitness, mental health and predisposition to both infectious and non-infectious diseases.
My research is exploring connections between environments, their microbial communities (microbiota), and the potential for human health benefits from nature-contact. The notion of a real biological (microbiota-mediated) connection between humans and their environments, and potential benefits for immune training and regulation from exposure to biodiversity (and associated microbial diversity), has originated from immunologists and medical researchers. However, this represents a large multidisciplinary field of research. My research has objectives to:
- help bridge the gap between environmental science, ecology and human health.
- investigate if there is support for possible health benefits from exposure to biodiversity in large existing environmental and public health datasets.
- build knowledge of biological (microbiota-based) connections between environments and exposed populations.
- help inform new cost-effective nature-based public health interventions.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2020 - ongoing Adjunct Senior Lecturer Flinders University 2020 - ongoing Adjunct Senior Fellow University of Adelaide 2017 - ongoing Senior NRM Scientist (Soil & Land) [Part-time] Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (SA) 2011 - 2017 Senior Natural Resource Management Scientist (Soil & Land) Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (SA) 2002 - 2011 Environmental Consultant Rural Solutions SA -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2015 - 2019 University of Adelaide Australia PhD (Bioscience) 1999 - 2001 Flinders University, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (ecology major) 1990 - 1993 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical, 1st class hons.) -
Certifications
Date Title Institution name Country 2012 Certificate IV in Project Management MBH Management Pty Ltd (RTO ID: 90884) - -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Peddle, S. D., Hodgson, R. J., Borrett, R. J., Brachmann, S., Davies, T. C., Erickson, T. E., . . . Breed, M. F. (2025). Practical applications of soil microbiota to improve ecosystem restoration: current knowledge and future directions. Biological Reviews, 100(1), 1-18.
Scopus9 Europe PMC32025 Hodgson, R. J., Cando-Dumancela, C., Liddicoat, C., Ramesh, S. A., Edwards, R. A., & Breed, M. F. (2025). Strong Host Modulation of Rhizosphere-to-Endosphere Microbial Colonisation in Natural Populations of the Pan-Palaeotropical Keystone Grass Species, Themeda triandra. Ecology and Evolution, 15(6), 16 pages.
2025 Shabani, F., Ahmadi, M., Lorestani, N., Bibi, S., Esmaeili, A., Lane, T., . . . Ossola, A. (2025). Pedology and Plant Provenance Can Improve Species Distribution Predictions of Australian Native Flora: A Calibrated and Validated Modeling Exercise on 5033 Species. Ecology and Evolution, 15(6).
2024 Davies, T., Cando-Dumancela, C., Liddicoat, C., Dresken, R., Damen, R. H., Edwards, R. A., . . . Breed, M. F. (2024). Ecological phage therapy: Can bacteriophages help rapidly restore the soil microbiome?. Ecology and Evolution, 14(8), 10 pages.
Scopus2 Europe PMC22024 Robinson, J. M., Annells, A., Cavagnaro, T. R., Liddicoat, C., Rogers, H., Taylor, A., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Monitoring soil fauna with ecoacoustics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291(2030), 20241595-1-20241595-10.
Scopus72024 Peddle, S. D., Cando-Dumancela, C., Krauss, S. L., Liddicoat, C., Sanders, A., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Agricultural land-use legacies affect soil bacterial communities following restoration in a global biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation, 290, 9 pages.
Scopus32024 Fickling, N. W., Abbott, C. A., Brame, J. E., Cando-Dumancela, C., Liddicoat, C., Robinson, J. M., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Light-dark cycles may influence in situ soil bacterial networks and diurnally-sensitive taxa. Ecology and Evolution, 14(2), e11018-1-e11018-18.
Scopus1 Europe PMC22024 Birnbaum, C., Dearnaley, J., Egidi, E., Frew, A., Hopkins, A., Powell, J., . . . Chiarenza, G. (2024). Integrating soil microbial communities into fundamental ecology, conservation, and restoration: examples from Australia. New Phytologist, 241(3), 974-981.
Scopus3 Europe PMC22024 Brame, J. E., Warbrick, I., Heke, D., Liddicoat, C., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Short-term passive greenspace exposures have little effect on nasal microbiomes: A cross-over exposure study of a Māori cohort. Environmental Research, 252(Pt 1), 9 pages.
2024 Newman, N. S., Abbott, C. A., Brame, J. E., Cando-Dumancela, C., Fickling, N. W., Liddicoat, C., . . . Breed, M. F. (2024). Childcare centre soil microbiomes are influenced by substrate type and surrounding vegetation condition. Science of the Total Environment, 927, 11 pages.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12024 Robinson, J. M., Liddicoat, C., Muñoz-Rojas, M., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Restoring soil biodiversity. Current Biology, 34(9), R393-R398.
Scopus7 Europe PMC52024 Brame, J. E., Liddicoat, C., Abbott, C. A., Edwards, R. A., Robinson, J. M., Gauthier, N. E., & Breed, M. F. (2024). The macroecology of butyrate-producing bacteria via metagenomic assessment of butyrate production capacity. Ecology and Evolution, 14(5), e11239-1-e11239-14.
Europe PMC12024 Liddicoat, C., Edwards, R. A., Roach, M., Robinson, J. M., Wallace, K. J., Barnes, A. D., . . . Breed, M. F. (2024). Bioenergetic mapping of ‘healthy microbiomes’ via compound processing potential imprinted in gut and soil metagenomes. Science of The Total Environment, 940, 173543.
Scopus3 Europe PMC62024 Hodgson, R. J., Liddicoat, C., Cando-Dumancela, C., Fickling, N. W., Peddle, S. D., Ramesh, S., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Increasing aridity strengthens the core bacterial rhizosphere associations in the pan-palaeotropical C4 grass, Themeda triandra. Applied Soil Ecology, 201, 105514.
Scopus42024 Robinson, J., Liddicoat, C., Sun, X., Whiley, H., Ramesh, S., Hawken, S., . . . Breed, B. (2024). The climate change-pollution-aerobiome nexus: a ‘systems thinking’ mini-review. Microbial Biotechnology, 17(10), e70018-1-e70018-10.
Scopus1 Europe PMC22024 Brame, J. E., Liddicoat, C., Abbott, C. A., Cando-Dumancela, C., Fickling, N. W., Robinson, J. M., & Breed, M. F. (2024). Urban sports fields support higher levels of soil butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria than urban nature parks. Ecology and Evolution, 14(7), 12 pages.
Europe PMC12023 Hodgson, R. J., Liddicoat, C., Cando‐Dumancela, C., Blyth, C., Watson, C. D., & Breed, M. F. (2023). Local and non‐local soil microbiota impede germination of the endangered Acacia whibleyana. Austral Ecology, 48(2), 339-358.
Scopus12023 Sun, X., Liddicoat, C., Tiunov, A., Wang, B., Zhang, Y., Lu, C., . . . Zhu, Y. G. (2023). Harnessing soil biodiversity to promote human health in cities. Npj Urban Sustainability, 3(1), 8 pages.
Scopus33 WoS12023 Robinson, J. M., Hodgson, R., Krauss, S. L., Liddicoat, C., Malik, A. A., Martin, B. C., . . . Breed, M. F. (2023). Opportunities and challenges for microbiomics in ecosystem restoration. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 38(12), 1189-1202.
Scopus23 Europe PMC132023 Cando-Dumancela, C., Davies, T., Hodgson, R. J., Liddicoat, C., Peddle, S. D., Watson, C. D., & Breed, M. F. (2023). A practical guide for restoration ecologists to manage microbial contamination risks before laboratory processes during microbiota restoration studies. Restoration Ecology, 31(1), 6 pages.
Scopus6 WoS22023 Peddle, S. D., Bissett, A., Borrett, R. J., Bullock, P., Gardner, M. G., Liddicoat, C., . . . Krauss, S. L. (2023). Soil DNA chronosequence analysis shows bacterial community re-assembly following post-mining forest rehabilitation. Restoration Ecology, 31(3), 13 pages.
Scopus12 WoS22022 Watson, C. D., Gardner, M. G., Hodgson, R. J., Liddicoat, C., Peddle, S. D., & Breed, M. F. (2022). Global meta-analysis shows progress towards recovery of soil microbiota following revegetation. Biological Conservation, 272, 109592-1-109592-8.
Scopus17 WoS22022 Robinson, J., Aronson, J., Daniels, C., Goodwin, N., Liddicoat, C., Orlando, L., . . . Breed, M. (2022). Ecosystem restoration is integral to humanity’s recovery from COVID-19. Lancet Planetary Health, 9(6), 769-773.
Scopus19 WoS2 Europe PMC122022 Young, J. M., Liddicoat, C., van Dijk, K. -J., Tabernero, P., Caillet, C., White, N. J., . . . Newton, P. N. (2022). Environmental DNA as an innovative technique to identify the origins of falsified antimalarial tablets—a pilot study of the pharmabiome. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 13 pages.
Scopus5 Europe PMC32022 Taggart, P. L., Liddicoat, C., Tong, W. H., Breed, M. F., Weinstein, P., Wheeler, D., & Vyas, A. (2022). Gut microbiota composition does not associate with Toxoplasma infection in rats.. Mol Ecol, 31(14), 3963-3970.
Scopus6 WoS3 Europe PMC72022 Liddicoat, C., Krauss, S. L., Bissett, A., Borrett, R. J., Ducki, L. C., Peddle, S. D., . . . Breed, M. F. (2022). Next generation restoration metrics: Using soil eDNA bacterial community data to measure trajectories towards rehabilitation targets. Journal of Environmental Management, 310, 114748-1-114748-12.
Scopus23 WoS11 Europe PMC102022 Lem, A. J., Liddicoat, C., Bissett, A., Cando-Dumancela, C., Gardner, M. G., Peddle, S. D., . . . Breed, M. F. (2022). Does revegetation cause soil microbiota recovery? Evidence from revisiting a revegetation chronosequence 6 years after initial sampling. Restoration Ecology, 30(8), e13635-1-e13635-14.
Scopus12 WoS32022 Brame, J., Liddicoat, C., Abbott, C., Edwards, R., Robinson, J., Gauthier, N., & Breed, M. (2022). Towards the biogeography of butyrate-producing bacteria.
2021 Prescott, S. L., Wegienka, G., Kort, R., Nelson, D. H., Gabrysch, S., Hancock, T., . . . Berman, B. (2021). Project earthrise: Proceedings of the ninth annual conference of in vivo planetary health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(20), 10654.
Scopus7 Europe PMC32021 Searle, R., McBratney, A., Grundy, M., Kidd, D., Malone, B., Arrouays, D., . . . Andrews, K. (2021). Digital soil mapping and assessment for Australia and beyond: A propitious future. Geoderma Regional, 24, 13 pages.
Scopus51 WoS232021 Cando‐Dumancela, C., Liddicoat, C., McLeod, D., Young, J. M., & Breed, M. F. (2021). A guide to minimise contamination issues in microbiome restoration studies. Restoration Ecology, 29(4), 7 pages.
Scopus11 WoS52021 Stanhope, J., Liddicoat, C., & Weinstein, P. (2021). Outdoor artificial light at night: a forgotten factor in green space and health research. Environmental Research, 197, 5 pages.
Scopus31 WoS15 Europe PMC162021 Brame, J. E., Liddicoat, C., Abbott, C. A., & Breed, M. F. (2021). The potential of outdoor environments to supply beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria to humans. Science of the Total Environment, 777, 146063.
Scopus30 WoS15 Europe PMC232021 Robinson, J. M., Cando-Dumancela, C., Antwis, R. E., Cameron, R., Liddicoat, C., Poudel, R., . . . Breed, M. F. (2021). Exposure to airborne bacteria depends upon vertical stratification and vegetation complexity. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 9516-1-9516-16.
Scopus41 WoS18 Europe PMC252021 Robinson, J. M., Watkins, H., Man, I., Liddicoat, C., Cameron, R., Parker, B., . . . Meagher, L. (2021). Microbiome-Inspired Green Infrastructure: A bioscience roadmap for urban ecosystem health. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 25(4), 292-303.
Scopus7 WoS22021 Baruch, Z., Liddicoat, C., Cando-Dumancela, C., Laws, M., Morelli, H., Weinstein, P., . . . Breed, M. F. (2021). Increased plant species richness associates with greater soil bacterial diversity in urban green spaces. Environmental Research, 196, 12 pages.
Scopus45 WoS24 Europe PMC122020 Robinson, J., Cando-Dumancela, C., Antwis, R., Cameron, R., Liddicoat, C., Poudel, R., . . . Breed, M. (2020). Exposure to Airborne Bacteria Depends upon Vertical Stratification and Vegetation Complexity.
2020 Robinson, J. M., Cando-Dumancela, C., Liddicoat, C., Weinstein, P., Cameron, R., & Breed, M. F. (2020). Vertical Stratification in Urban Green Space Aerobiomes. Environmental Health Perspectives, 128(11), 117008.
Scopus41 WoS20 Europe PMC192020 Baruch, Z., Liddicoat, C., Laws, M., Kiri Marker, L., Morelli, H., Yan, D. F., . . . Breed, M. F. (2020). Characterising the soil fungal microbiome in metropolitan green spaces across a vegetation biodiversity gradient. Fungal Ecology, 47, 1-10.
Scopus22 WoS142020 Grundy, M. J., Searle, R., Meier, E. A., Ringrose-Voase, A. J., Kidd, D., Orton, T. G., . . . Bennett, J. M. L. (2020). Digital soil assessment delivers impact across scales in Australia and the Philippines. Geoderma Regional, 22, 15 pages.
Scopus6 WoS42020 Kidd, D., Searle, R., Grundy, M., McBratney, A., Robinson, N., O'Brien, L., . . . Triantafilis, J. (2020). Operationalising digital soil mapping – Lessons from Australia. Geoderma Regional, 23, 21 pages.
Scopus39 WoS172020 Liddicoat, C., Sydnor, H., Cando-Dumancela, C., Dresken, R., Liu, J., Gellie, N., . . . Breed, M. F. (2020). Naturally-diverse airborne environmental microbial exposures modulate the gut microbiome and may provide anxiolytic benefits in mice. Science of the Total Environment, 701, 1-11.
Scopus119 WoS72 Europe PMC652019 Bennett, J. M., McBratney, A., Field, D., Kidd, D., Stockmann, U., Liddicoat, C., & Grover, S. (2019). Soil Security for Australia. SUSTAINABILITY, 11(12), 15 pages.
Scopus38 WoS212019 Mills, J., Brookes, J., Gellie, N., Liddicoat, C., Lowe, A., Sydnor, H., . . . Breed, M. F. (2019). Relating urban biodiversity to human health with the ‘holobiont’ concept. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10(MAR), 8 pages.
Scopus73 WoS49 Europe PMC352019 Liddicoat, C., Weinstein, P., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Waycott, M., & Breed, M. F. (2019). Can bacterial indicators of a grassy woodland restoration inform ecosystem assessment and microbiota-mediated human health?. Environment International, 129, 105-117.
Scopus55 WoS42 Europe PMC152018 Liddicoat, C., Bi, P., Waycott, M., Glover, J., Breed, M. F., & Weinstein, P. (2018). Ambient soil cation exchange capacity inversely associates with infectious and parasitic disease risk in regional Australia. Science of the Total Environment, 626, 117-125.
Scopus34 WoS23 Europe PMC92018 Liddicoat, C., Bi, P., Waycott, M., Glover, J., Lowe, A., & Weinstein, P. (2018). Landscape biodiversity correlates with respiratory health in Australia. Journal of Environmental Management, 206, 113-122.
Scopus49 WoS37 Europe PMC212016 Liddicoat, C., Waycott, M., & Weinstein, P. (2016). Environmental change and human health: Can environmental proxies inform the biodiversity hypothesis for protective microbial-human contact?. BioScience, 66(12), 1023-1034.
Scopus23 WoS172015 Liddicoat, C., Maschmedt, D., Clifford, D., Searle, R., Herrmann, T., Macdonald, L., & Baldock, J. (2015). Predictive mapping of soil organic carbon stocks in South Australia's agricultural zone. Soil Research, 53(8), 956-973.
Scopus36 WoS302015 Odgers, N. P., Holmes, K. W., Griffin, T., & Liddicoat, C. (2015). Derivation of soil-attribute estimations from legacy soil maps. Soil Research, 53(8), 881-894.
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Books
Year Citation - Arrouays, D., McKenzie, N., Hempel, J., Richer de Forges, A., & McBratney, A. B. (Eds.) (n.d.). GlobalSoilMap. CRC Press.
DOI -
Conference Papers
Year Citation 2014 Liddicoat, C., Maschmedt, D., Kidd, D. B., & Searle, R. (2014). Modelling soil carbon stocks using legacy site data, in the mid north region of South Australia. In D. Arrouays, N. McKenzie, J. Hempel, A. C. R. DeForges, & A. McBratney (Eds.), Globalsoilmap Basis of the Global Spatial Soil Information System Proceedings of the 1st Globalsoilmap Conference (pp. 253-259). Orleans, FRANCE: CRC PRESS-TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2021 Stanhope, J., Liddicoat, C., & Weinstein, P. (2021). Is outdoor artificial light at night confounding studies on green space and health?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Environmental Health Perspectives. New York: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
DOI2021 Stanhope, J., Liddicoat, C., & Weinstein, P. (2021). Is outdoor artificial light at night confounding spatial epidemiological studies on greenspace and health?. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Journal of Epidemiology. Virtual: Oxford University Press (OUP).
DOI -
Datasets
Year Citation - Liddicoat, C., Weinstein, P., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Waycott, M., & Breed, M. (n.d.). Data Inputs - Can bacterial indicators of a grassy woodland restoration inform ecosystem assessment and microbiota-mediated human health?.
DOI- Liddicoat, C., Sydnor, H., Cando-Dumancela, C., Dresken, R., Liu, J., Gellie, N., . . . Breed, M. (n.d.). Supporting Data - Naturally-diverse airborne environmental microbial exposures modulate the gut microbiome and may provide anxiolytic benefits in mice.
DOI- Stanhope, J., Liddicoat, C., & Weinstein, P. (n.d.). Supporting data for article - Outdoor artificial light at night: a forgotten factor in green space and health research.
DOI -
Preprint
Year Citation 2023 Liddicoat, C., Edwards, R., Roach, M., Robinson, J., Wallace, K. J., Barnes, A., . . . Breed, M. (2023). Bioenergetic mapping of ‘healthy microbiomes’ via compound processing potential imprinted in gut and soil metagenomes.
DOI
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