Dr Martin Breed
Dr Breed is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow within the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide who studies the complexities of ecosystem restoration interventions in urban to rural landscapes.
He is at the forefront of his field and is an editor on journals Restoration Ecology - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1526-100X - and Cogent Environmental Science - https://www.cogentoa.com/journal/environmental-science, and is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission - Conservation Genetics Specialist Group - http://www.cgsg.uni-freiburg.de.
His expertise in urban green space design, genomics, plant evolutionary ecology, restoration science, and conservation biology has allowed him to develop pragmatic and workable solutions to emerging conservation and restoration challenges.
The impact of Dr Breed’s work is realised through his ongoing engagements with a diverse suite of collaborators, including public and community NGOs, commercial enterprises, primary industry, and government.
I study Ecosystem Restoration Interventions in urban to rural landscapes by integrating genomics, plant evolutionary ecology, restoration science, and conservation biology. I enjoy testing new and emerging technologies.
Examples of areas I work on include:
- optimising benefits from urban green spaces in smart cities
- improving restoration interventions under global change
- developing innovative approaches to quantify restoration success
- harnessing restoration interventions to deliver co-benefits to biodiversity and society (e.g. pollination, human health, carbon)
Appointments
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | DECRA Fellow | University of Adelaide |
| 2014 - 2015 | Postdoc | University of Adelaide |
| 2013 - 2014 | Postdoc | Uppsala University |
Awards and Achievements
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2020 | University Beacon Fellowship | University of Adelaide | ||
| 2016 | Outstanding Early Career Alumnus: James Cook University, College of Science and Engineering | James Cook University | ||
| 2015 | SA Young Tall Poppy Award | Australian Institute of Policy & Science | ||
| 2015 | ARC DECRA Fellowship | University of Adelaide | ||
| 2013 | SA Science Excellence Award | South Australian Department of State Development | ||
| 2013 | Executive Dean's Order of Merit | University of Adelaide | ||
| 2013 | Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence | University of Adelaide |
Language Competencies
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Swedish | Can read, write, speak and understand spoken |
Education
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 - 2013 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD |
| 2006 - 2008 | Uppsala University | Sweden | MSc |
| 2004 - 2006 | James Cook University | Australia | BAppSci |
Keywords
Journals
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Breed,W, Leigh,C, Breed,M, 2017, Changes in abundance and reproductive activity of small arid zone murid rodents on an active cattle station in central Australia, Wildlife Research, 44, 1, 22-27 10.1071/WR16152 |
| 2017 | Martín-Forés,I, Avilés,M, Acosta-Gallo,B, Breed,M, del Pozo,A, de Miguel,J, Sánchez-Jardón,L, Castro,I, Ovalle,C, Casado,M et al, 2017, Ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity combine to enhance the invasiveness of the most widespread daisy in Chile, Leontodon saxatilis, Scientific Reports, 7, 1, 1-10 10.1038/s41598-017-01457-1 |
| 2017 | Caddy-Retalic,S, Andersen,A, Aspinwall,M, Breed,M, Byrne,M, Christmas,M, Dong,N, Evans,B, Fordham,D, Guerin,G et al, 2017, Bioclimatic transect networks: powerful observatories of ecological change, Ecology and Evolution, OnlinePubl, 1-13 10.1002/ece3.2995 |
| 2017 | Christmas,M, Biffin,E, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2017, Targeted capture to assess neutral genomic variation in the narrow-leaf hopbush across a continental biodiversity refugium, Scientific Reports, 7, 41367-1-41367-10 10.1038/srep41367 |
| 2017 | Gellie,N, Mills,J, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2017, Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field, Molecular Ecology, 26, 11, 2895-2904 10.1111/mec.14081 |
| 2017 | Bissett,A, Fitzgerald,A, Court,L, Meintjes,T, Mele,P, Reith,F, Dennis,P, Breed,M, Brown,B, Brown,M et al, 2017, Erratum: Introducing BASE: The Biomes of Australian Soil Environments soil microbial diversity database [GigaScience. 5, 1, (2016) (1-11)] DOI: 10.1186/s13742-016-0126-5, GigaScience, 6, 5, 1- 10.1093/gigascience/gix021 |
| 2017 | Broadhurst,L, Breed,MF, Lowe,A, Bragg,J, Catullo,R, Coates,D, Encinas-Viso,F, Gellie,N, James,E, Krauss,S et al, 2017, Genetic diversity and structure of the Australian flora, Diversity and Distributions: a journal of conservation biogeography, 23, 1, 41-52 10.1111/ddi.12505 |
| 2016 | Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Lowe,AJ, 2016, Height differences in two eucalypt provenances with contrasting levels of aridity, Restoration Ecology, 24, 4, 471-478 10.1111/rec.12335 |
| 2016 | Christmas,M, Biffin,E, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2016, Finding needles in a genomic haystack: targeted capture identifies clear signatures of selection in a non-model plant species, Molecular Ecology, 25, 17, 4216-4233 10.1111/mec.13750 |
| 2016 | Costion,C, Lowe,AJ, Rossetto,M, Kooyman,R, Breed,MF, Ford,A, Crayn,D, 2016, Building a plant DNA barcode reference library for a diverse tropical flora: an example from Queensland, Australia, Diversity, 8, 1, 1-9 10.3390/d8010005 |
| 2016 | Bissett,A, Fitzgerald,A, Meintjes,T, Mele,P, Reith,F, Dennis,P, Breed,M, Brown,B, Brown,M, Brugger,J et al, 2016, Introducing BASE: the Biomes of Australian Soil Environments soil microbial diversity database, GigaScience, 5, 1, 1-11 10.1186/s13742-016-0126-5 |
| 2016 | Gellie,N, Breed,M, Thurgate,N, Kennedy,S, Lowe,A, 2016, Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration, Biological Conservation, 203, 226-232 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.036 |
| 2016 | Baruch,Z, Christmas,M, Breed,MF, Guerin,G, Caddy-Retalic,S, McDonald,J, Jardine,D, Leitch,E, Gellie,N, Hill,K et al, 2016, Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae), Austral Ecology, OnlinePubl, 1-9 10.1111/aec.12474 |
| 2016 | Christmas,MJ, Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ, 2016, Constraints to and conservation implications for climate change adaptation in plants, Conservation Genetics, 17, 2, 305-320 10.1007/s10592-015-0782-5 |
| 2016 | Breed,M, Mortimer,P, Lowe,A, 2016, Restoration: 'Garden of Eden' unrealistic, Nature, 533, 7604, 469-469 10.1038/533469d |
| 2015 | Davies,S, Cavers,S, Finegan,B, White,A, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2015, Pollen flow in fragmented landscapes maintains genetic diversity following stand-replacing disturbance in a neotropical pioneer tree, Vochysia ferruginea Mart, Heredity, 105, 2, 125-129 10.1038/hdy.2013.95 |
| 2015 | Breed,M, Ottewell,K, Gardner,M, Marklund,M, Stead,M, Harris,J, Lowe,A, 2015, Mating system and early viability resistance to habitat fragmentation in a bird-pollinated eucalypt, Heredity, 105, 2, 100-107 10.1038/hdy.2012.72 |
| 2015 | Lowe,A, Cavers,S, Boshier,D, Breed,M, Hollingsworth,P, 2015, The resilience of forest fragmentation genetics-no longer a paradox-we were just looking in the wrong place, Heredity, 115, 2, 97-99 10.1038/hdy.2015.40 |
| 2015 | Breed,M, Ottewell,K, Gardner,M, Marklund,M, Dormontt,E, Lowe,A, 2015, Mating patterns and pollinator mobility are critical traits in forest fragmentation genetics, Heredity, 105, 2, 108-114 10.1038/hdy.2013.48 |
| 2014 | Guerin,GR, Martín-Forés,I, Biffin,E, Baruch,Z, Breed,MF, Christmas,MJ, Cross,HB, Lowe,AJ, 2014, Global change community ecology beyond species-sorting: a quantitative framework based on mediterranean-biome examples, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23, 10, 1062-1072 10.1111/geb.12184 |
| 2014 | Dormontt,E, Gardner,M, Breed,M, Rodger,J, Prentis,P, Lowe,A, 2014, Genetic bottlenecks in time and space: reconstructing invasions from contemporary and historical collections, PLoS One, 9, 9, e106874-1-e106874-11 10.1371/journal.pone.0106874 |
| 2014 | McCallum,K, Guerin,G, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2014, Combining population genetics, species distribution modelling and field assessments to understand a species vulnerability to climate change, Austral Ecology, 39, 1, 17-28 10.1111/aec.12041 |
| 2014 | Breed,M, Christmas,M, Lowe,A, 2014, Higher levels of multiple paternities increase seedling survival in the long-lived tree eucalyptus gracilis, PLoS One, 9, 2, e90478-1-e90478-9 10.1371/journal.pone.0090478 |
| 2013 | Rudh,A, Breed,M, Qvarnstrom,A, 2013, Does aggression and explorative behaviour decrease with lost warning colouration?, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 108, 1, 116-126 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.02006.x |
| 2013 | Breed,M, Stead,M, Ottewell,K, Gardner,M, Lowe,A, 2013, Which provenance and where? Seed sourcing strategies for revegetation in a changing environment, Conservation Genetics, 14, 1, 1-10 10.1007/s10592-012-0425-z |
| 2012 | Murphy,N, Breed,M, Guzik,M, Cooper,S, Austin,A, 2012, Trapped in desert springs: phylogeography of Australian desert spring snails, Journal of Biogeography, 39, 9, 1573-1582 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02725.x |
| 2012 | Breed,M, Marklund,M, Ottewell,K, Gardner,M, Harris,J, Lowe,A, 2012, Pollen diversity matters: revealing the neglected effect of pollen diversity on fitness in fragmented landscapes, Molecular Ecology, 21, 24, 5955-5968 10.1111/mec.12056 |
| 2012 | Breed,M, Gardner,M, Ottewell,K, Navarro,C, Lowe,A, 2012, Shifts in reproductive assurance strategies and inbreeding costs associated with habitat fragmentation in Central American mahogany, Ecology Letters, 15, 5, 444-452 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01752.x |
| 2011 | Breed,M, Ottewell,K, Gardner,M, Lowe,A, 2011, Clarifying climate change adaptation responses for scattered trees in modified landscapes, Journal of Applied Ecology, 48, 3, 637-641 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.01969.x |
| 2011 | Weeks,A, Sgro,C, Young,A, Frankham,R, Mitchell,N, Miller,K, Byrne,M, Coates,D, Eldridge,M, Sunnucks,P et al, 2011, Assessing the benefits and risks of translocations in changing environments: a genetic perspective, Evolutionary Applications, 4, 6, 709-725 10.1111/j.1752-4571.2011.00192.x |
| 2011 | Breed,A, Breed,M, Meers,J, Field,H, 2011, Evidence of endemic Hendra Virus infection in flying-foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus) - implications for disease risk management, PLoS One, 6, 12, 1-7 10.1371/journal.pone.0028816 |
Conference Items
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Lowe,AJ, Gellie,N, Mills,J, Breed,MF, 2017, Future challenges in restoration plantings, and their potential solutions, 7th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Iguassu, Brazil |
| 2017 | Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Lowe,AJ, 2017, Alternative provenancing strategies, theory and empirical evidence, 7th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Iguassu, Brazil |
| 2017 | Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Mills J,, Lowe,AJ, 2017, Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field, 19th International Botanical Congress, Shenzhen, China |
| 2016 | Gellie,N, Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ, 2016, Laboratories for restoration science - developing the evidence base for resilient landscape restoration, Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia, Hamilton, NZ |
| 2016 | Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Lowe,A, 2016, How can restoration avoid genetic ghettos, adapt to climate change, and effectively monitor success?, 11th Australian Plant Conservation Conference, Melbourne, Aus |
| 2016 | Mills,J, Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Lowe,A, 2016, Revegetation rewilds the bacterial microbiome of an old field, Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia, Hamilton, NZ |
| 2016 | Lowe,AJ, Breed,M, Gellie,N, Guerin,GR, Mills,J, Christmas,M, 2016, Restoring South Australia's native vegetation, ''Botany 2016 – Past, Present and Future' Symposium. South Australian NRM Science Conference., The University of Adelaide |
| 2016 | Breed,MF, Gellie,N, Lowe,A, 2016, How can restoration avoid genetic ghettos, adapt to climate change, and effectively monitor success?, Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia, Hamilton, NZ |
| 2015 | Christmas,M, Breed,M, Biffin,E, Lowe,A, 2015, Signatures of selection across the landscape: Using genomic tools to inform restoration and conservation practice, 6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Manchester, UK |
| 2015 | Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2015, Seed quality shifts and managing plant genetic resources in fragmented landscapes, 6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Manchester, UK |
| 2015 | Gellie,N, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2015, Laboratories for restoration science - developing the evidence base for cost-effective and resilient landscape restoration, 6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Manchester, UK |
| 2015 | Gellie,N, Breed,M, Lowe,A, 2015, That big tree’s not from around here – provenance decision –making during uncertain times, 40th Ecological Society of Australia, Adelaide, Aus |
Datasets
| Date | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Gellie,N, Mills,J, Breed,M, Lowe,A; 2017; Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field. Part 1: OTU raw data matrix |
| 2017 | Gellie,N, Mills,JG, Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ; 2017; Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field. Part 2: Soil chemistry |
| 2016 | Gellie,NJC, Breed,MF, Thurgate,N, Kennedy,SA, Lowe,A; 2016; Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration. Part 1; survival |
| 2016 | Gellie,N, Breed,M, Thurgate,N, Kennedy,SA, Lowe,AJ; 2016; Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration. Part 2 growth |
| 2016 | Baruch,Z, Christmas,M, Breed,MF, Guerin,GR, Caddy-Retalic,S, McDonald,J, Jardine,DI, Leitch,EJ, Gellie,NJC, Hill,K et al; 2016; Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae) Part 1: Latitude |
| 2016 | Baruch,Z, Christmas,M, Breed,MF, Guerin,GR, Caddy-Retalic,S, McDonald,JT, Jardine,DI, Leitch,EJ, Gellie,NJC, Hill,K et al; 2016; Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae) Part 2: Elevation |
| 2015 | Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ; 2015; Higher Levels of Multiple Paternities Increase Seedling Survival in the Long-Lived Tree Eucalyptus gracilis |
| 2014 | Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ; 2014; Mating system and early viability resistance to habitat fragmentation in a bird-pollinated eucalypt |
| 2013 | Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ; 2013; Mating patterns and pollinator mobility are critical traits in forest fragmentation genetics |
| 2012 | Breed,MF, Lowe,AJ; 2012; Pollen diversity matters: revealing the neglected effect of pollen diversity on fitness in fragmented landscapes |
Funded Category 1 and Major Research Grants
1. CIs: Lowe AJ, Dall D, Rader R, Cunningham S. PIs: Hogendoorn K, Breed MF, Thurgate N, Guerin G, O'Connor P, Olderoyd B, Latty T and 15 industry partners (2016-2020) Securing Pollination for More Productive Agriculture: guidelines for effective pollinator management and stakeholder adoption. Commonwealth Dept Ag & Rural R&D For Profit Fund ($4.5M from Dept Ag + $2.7M partner cash)
2. Breed MF (2015-2018). Understanding adaptation of plants along environmental clines. ARC DECRA DE150100542 ($355k)
3. Lowe AJ, Breed MF, Byrne M, Lascoux M, Stephen J, Vendramin GG (2015-2018). Understanding adaptation to improve conservation of Australian flora. ARC Discovery DP150103414 ($373k)
Other Research Grants Funded
4. Breed MF (2017-2020). Optimizing today’s restoration for tomorrow’s challenges. University of Adelaide Beacon Early Career Research Fellowship (ca. $330k, includes 3 years full salary plus research support)
5. Breed MF (2016-2017). Adaptive potential in Dodonaea viscosa as a model for plant climate change adaptation. Thomas Davies Research Fund ($10k)
6. Breed MF, Lowe AJ (2015-2016). Metabarcoding to demonstrate re-gain of soil function after ecological restoration. BioPlatforms Australia (ca. $50k)
I secured >$110k total from 10 different organisations to fund the operational and travel costs of my PhD
Contract research
7. Breed MF (2017-2019) Maireana sedifolia rehabilitation efficiency and success. Iluka Resources Ltd. ($106k)
8. Breed MF (2016-2017) Rehabilitation of soil function. Iluka Resources Ltd. ($17k)
9. Breed MF (2016-2017) Maireana sedifolia seed collection and production. Iluka Resources Ltd. ($65k)
Having only held research-only fellowships and research grant funded postdoc positions, I have had little opportunity to be involved with undergraduate teaching. Accordingly, my career focus has been on research. However, despite this research focus, I have still been the supervisor of 16 undergraduate research students at the University of Adelaide since 2014 (6-10 week projects). These students have largely been summer research scholarship students or BSc Advanced Practice and Principles of Research III interns.
Further to these undergraduate research students, I have had ad hoc undergraduate teaching responsibilities at the University of Adelaide. I led the conservation genetics tutorial for Conservation and Restoration Level III in 2014 (ENV BIOL 3008), tutored this same practical in 2016, have been an examiner of Honours Research Hypothesis and Experimental Proposal in 2016 and 2017 (SCIENCE 4100A/B), and a tutor of BSc Advanced Principles and Practice in Research II and III in 2014, 2015 and 2016 (SCIENCE 3100, SCIENCE 2300). At Uppsala University, Sweden, I was tutor of the Evolutionary Processes postgraduate course in 2013.
I currently supervise 1 China Scholarship Council postdoc (Dr Dongfeng Yan), 1 PhD student (Colette Blyth), and 1 Honours student (Jacob Mills), and co-supervise 2 PhD students (Nick Gellie – recently submitted, Kimberly McCallum). I supervised 2 honours students in 2015 (both 1st Class Hons, Dona Kireta and Ellyse Bunney), provided support to supervisors of 1 Hons, 1 MSc, and 4 PhD students to completion, and have supervised 16 undergraduate interns (e.g. summer research students). I am currently in discussion with a number of potential future PhD students, and expect to be principal supervisor of at least 2 new PhD students by the end of 2017 (Dona Kireta, Jacob Mills).
Current Postdocs & PhD students
2017- Colette Blyth – Studies of adaptation to inform seed selection for restoration (principal supervisor)
2016- Dr Dongfeng Yan – China Scholarship Council postdoc – Developing operational indicators of ecological restoration success (supervisor)
2014- Kimberley McCallum – Influence of spatial planting patterns on ecosystem function in revegetated systems (co-supervisor)
2014- Nick Gellie – Developing best practice approaches for restoring forest ecosystems that are resilient to climate change (co-supervisor) (thesis submitted in December 2016)
Current Hons students
2016- Jacob Mills – Next-generation urban green space restoration (supervisor)
Completed MSc and Hons students
2015 Dona Kireta – Population genetic structure of 3 Goodenia species in South Australia (Hons 1st class)
2015 Ellyse Bunney – Chemical signatures of adaptation in Dodonaea viscosa (Hons 1st class)
2013-2014 Kanaka Lakschmig – Root-colonising fungi using DNA metabarcoding (MSc mentor, Uppsala University)
2011 Kimberley McCallum – Combining population genetics, species distribution modeling and field assessments to understand a species’ vulnerability to climate change (Hons mentor, 1st class)
Memberships
| Date | Role | Membership | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Member | Australian Network for Plant Conservation | |
| 2015 | Member | The Royal Institution of Australia Inc. | |
| 2015 | Member | International Network for Seed-Based Restoration | |
| 2014 | Member | Genetics Society of Australasia | |
| 2014 | Member | Australian Transect Network | |
| 2011 | Member | British Ecological Society | |
| 2009 | Member | Society for Ecological Restoration | |
| 2008 | Member | Society for Conservation Biology | |
| 2008 | Member | Ecology Society of Australia |
Committee Memberships
| Date | Role | Committee | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Member | Australian Smart Cities Consortium | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2016 | Member | IUCN Species Survival Commission - Conservation Genetics Specialist Group | IUCN | Germany |
| 2016 | Member | Securing pollination for more productive agriculture | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2016 | Advisory Board Member | Trees For Life | Technical Advisory Committee | Australia |
Editorial Boards
| Date | Role | Editorial Board Name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Editor | Restoration Ecology | United States |
| 2015 | Editor | Cogent Environmental Science | United Kingdom |