Nick Gellie

Research Interests

Biological Adaptation Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Ecology Environmental Monitoring Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change Genetics Landscape Ecology Microbial Ecology Plant Biology & Botany

Dr Nick Gellie

Science Projects Co-ordinator

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Nick Gellie submitted his PhD in January 2017 where he explored practical ways to improve restoration outcomes. This was done by testing innovative provenance selection criteria and incorporating evidence based adaptive management approaches to current practice. More recently his research includes urban green-space microbiome assessment and pollination services.

The published research from his thesis included (1) the investigation of plant local adaptation and how this knowledge can best be applied to seed collection for better restoration outcomes; (2) developing cost effective metrics to monitor and compare the regain of biodiversity during restoration (3) conceptual advances of embedded experiments used in broad-scale restoration .

An overarching theme of his research has been to align the goals of restoration practitioners, researchers and policy makers so as to create sustainable restoration outcomes. Along with his colleagues and close industry partners he is successfully applying strategies refined in his thesis to exciting restoration work in both China and Australia.

For his honors research at Flinders University of South Australia he published work on the physiology of mound spring flora in South Australia. He has undertaken vegetation monitoring and assessment (e.g. from wet tropic mangroves to range lands) for the private sector and has a background in primary industry (e.g. fisheries).

Outside of his work life he enjoys promoting, local science and the scientific process through community engagement. Nick is a foundation member of Science in the pub Adelaide which has successfully provided a monthly forum on a diverse range of topical scientific issues to Adelaide audiences since 2014.

Date Position Institution name
2017 - 2019 Research Associate University of Adelaide, Adelaide

Date Institution name Country Title
2013 - 2017 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia PhD
Flinders University, Adelaide Australia BSc
Flinders University, Adelaide Australia BSc(Hons)

Year Citation
2021 Robinson, J. M., Gellie, N., MacCarthy, D., Mills, J. G., O'Donnell, K., & Redvers, N. (2021). Traditional ecological knowledge in restoration ecology: a call to listen deeply, to engage with, and respect Indigenous voices. Restoration Ecology, 29(4), 9 pages.
DOI Scopus44 WoS24
2020 Yan, D., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Connell, G., Bissett, A., Lowe, A., & Breed, M. F. (2020). A soil archaeal community responds to a decade of ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology, 28(1), 63-72.
DOI Scopus8 WoS5
2020 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.
DOI Scopus114 WoS72 Europe PMC45
2020 Yan, D., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Mills, J. G., Lowe, A. J., & Breed, M. F. (2020). Soil bacterial community differences along a coastal restoration chronosequence. Plant Ecology, 221(9), 795-811.
DOI Scopus16 WoS10
2020 Mills, J. G., Bissett, A., Gellie, N. J. C., Lowe, A. J., Selway, C. A., Thomas, T., . . . Breed, M. F. (2020). Revegetation of urban green space rewilds soil microbiotas with implications for human health and urban design. Restoration Ecology, 28(Suppl. 4), S322-S334.
DOI Scopus54 WoS32
2020 Bastin, J. F., Finegold, Y., Garcia, C., Gellie, N., Lowe, A., Mollicone, D., . . . Crowther, T. W. (2020). Erratum: The global tree restoration potential (Science (2017) 12 (e0169748) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169748). Science, 368(6494), eabc8905.
DOI Scopus6
2019 Bastin, J. F., Finegold, Y., Garcia, C., Gellie, N., Lowe, A., Mollicone, D., . . . Crowther, T. W. (2019). Response to Comments on “The global tree restoration potential”. Science, 366(6463), 6 pages.
DOI Scopus22 WoS21 Europe PMC3
2019 Breed, M. F., Harrison, P., Blyth, C., Byrne, M., Gaget, V., Gellie, N., . . . Mohr, J. (2019). The potential of genomics for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. Nature Reviews Genetics, 20(10), 615-628.
DOI Scopus157 WoS113 Europe PMC46
2019 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.
DOI Scopus52 WoS42 Europe PMC11
2019 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.
DOI Scopus68 WoS49 Europe PMC27
2018 Yan, D., Mills, J., Gellie, N., Bissett, A., Lowe, A., & Breed, M. (2018). High-throughput eDNA monitoring of fungi to track functional recovery in ecological restoration. Biological Conservation, 217, 113-120.
DOI Scopus84 WoS65 Europe PMC5
2018 Gellie, N., Breed, M., Mortimer, P., Harrison, R., Xu, J., & Lowe, A. (2018). Networked and embedded scientific experiments will improve restoration outcomes. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(5), 288-294.
DOI Scopus36 WoS34
2018 Baruch, Z., Jones, A., Hill, K. E., McInerney, F., Blyth, C., Caddy-Retalic, S., . . . Breed, M. (2018). Functional acclimation across microgeographic scales in Dodonaea viscosa. AoB Plants, 10(3), ply029-1-ply029-15.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2018 Breed, M. F., Harrison, P. A., Bischoff, A., Durruty, P., Gellie, N. J., Gonzales, E. K., . . . Bucharova, A. (2018). Priority actions to improve provenance decision-making. Bioscience, 68(7), 510-516.
DOI Scopus90 WoS72
2017 Broadhurst, L., Breed, M., Lowe, A., Bragg, J., Catullo, R., Coates, D., . . . Byrne, M. (2017). Genetic diversity and structure of the Australian flora. Diversity and Distributions: a journal of conservation biogeography, 23(1), 41-52.
DOI Scopus57 WoS49
2017 Baruch, Z., Christmas, M., Breed, M., Guerin, G., Caddy-Retalic, S., McDonald, J., . . . Lowe, A. (2017). Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae). Austral Ecology, 42(5), 553-561.
DOI Scopus19 WoS17 Europe PMC2
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.
DOI Scopus71 WoS60 Europe PMC11
2017 Mills, J., Weinstein, P., Gellie, N., Weyrich, L., Lowe, A., & Breed, M. (2017). Urban habitat restoration provides a human health benefit through microbiome rewilding: the Microbiome Rewilding Hypothesis. Restoration Ecology, 25(6), 866-872.
DOI Scopus127 WoS91
2016 Breed, M., Gellie, N., & Lowe, A. (2016). Height differences in two eucalypt provenances with contrasting levels of aridity. Restoration Ecology, 24(4), 471-478.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5
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.
DOI Scopus30 WoS27 Europe PMC3
2015 Gellie, N., Beaumont, K., Mackay, D., Whalen, M., & Clarke, L. (2015). Growth responses of Baumea juncea (Cyperaceae) plants from inland artesian spring and coastal habitats to salinity and waterlogging treatments. Australian Journal of Botany, 63(6), 517-525.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1

Year Citation
2017 Breed, M. F., Gellie, N., & Lowe, A. J. (2017). Alternative provenancing strategies, theory and empirical evidence. Poster session presented at the meeting of Using non-local plants for restoration – fallacy or fundamental?. Iguassu, Brazil.
2017 Lowe, A. J., Gellie, N., Mills, J., & Breed, M. F. (2017). Future challenges in restoration plantings, and their potential solutions. Poster session presented at the meeting of Using non-local plants for restoration – fallacy or fundamental?. Iguassu, Brazil.
2017 Breed, M. F., Gellie, N., Mills J., & Lowe, A. J. (2017). Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field. Poster session presented at the meeting of Harnessing new genetic approaches to improve restoration success. Shenzhen, China.
2017 Mills, J. G., Weinstein., Gellie., Weyrich., Lowe., & Breed. (2017). Restoration of urban green spaces rewilds the environmental microbiome with associated shifts in the human microbiome.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Society for Ecological Restoration. Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.
2016 Gellie, N., Breed, M. F., & Lowe, A. J. (2016). Laboratories for restoration science - developing the evidence base for resilient landscape restoration. Poster session presented at the meeting of Conservation genetics. Hamilton, NZ.
2016 Mills, J., Breed, M. F., Gellie, N., & Lowe, A. (2016). Revegetation rewilds the bacterial microbiome of an old field. Poster session presented at the meeting of Conservation genetics. Hamilton, NZ.
2016 Breed, M. F., Gellie, N., & Lowe, A. (2016). How can restoration avoid genetic ghettos, adapt to climate change, and effectively monitor success?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Conservation genetics. Hamilton, NZ.
2016 Breed, M. F., Gellie, N., & Lowe, A. (2016). How can restoration avoid genetic ghettos, adapt to climate change, and effectively monitor success?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Holistic conservation. Melbourne, Aus.
2016 Lowe, A. J., Breed, M., Gellie, N., Guerin, G. R., Mills, J., & Christmas, M. (2016). Restoring South Australia's native vegetation. Poster session presented at the meeting of ''Botany 2016 – Past, Present and Future' Symposium. South Australian NRM Science Conference.. The University of Adelaide.
2015 Gellie, N., Breed, M., & Lowe, A. (2015). That big tree’s not from around here – provenance decision –making during uncertain times. Poster session presented at the meeting of Synthesising restoration outcomes in agricultural and mined landscapes. Adelaide, Aus.
2015 Gellie, N., Breed, M., & Lowe, A. (2015). Laboratories for restoration science - developing the evidence base for cost-effective and resilient landscape restoration. Poster session presented at the meeting of Restoration resilience. Manchester, UK.

Year Citation
2020 Mills, J. G., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Lowe, A., Selway, C., Thomas, T., . . . Breed, M. (2020). Revegetation of urban green space rewilds soil microbiotas with implications for human health and urban design.
2017 Gellie, N., Mills, J. G., Breed, M. F., & Lowe, A. J. (2017). Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field. Part 2: Soil chemistry.
DOI
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.
DOI
2016 Gellie, N. J. C., Breed, M. F., Thurgate, N., Kennedy, S. A., & Lowe, A. (2016). Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration. Part 1; survival.
DOI
2016 Gellie, N., Breed, M., Thurgate, N., Kennedy, S. A., & Lowe, A. J. (2016). Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration. Part 2 growth.
DOI
2016 Baruch, Z., Christmas, M., Breed, M. F., Guerin, G. R., Caddy-Retalic, S., McDonald, J., . . . Lowe, A. J. (2016). Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae) Part 1: Latitude.
DOI
2016 Baruch, Z., Christmas, M., Breed, M. F., Guerin, G. R., Caddy-Retalic, S., McDonald, J. T., . . . Lowe, A. J. (2016). Leaf trait associations with environmental variation in the wide-ranging shrub Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sapindaceae) Part 2: Elevation.
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
- 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
- Yan, D., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Connell, G., Bissett, A., Lowe, A., & Breed, M. (n.d.). Archaea restoration raw OTU data.
DOI

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2016 - ongoing Advisory Board Member Technical Advisory Committee Trees for Life Australia

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