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Prof. Dr. Catherine Graham
Function
teamleader, senior scientist
Contact
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Site
Birmensdorf Bi MG C 47
CURRENT POSITION
Senior Researcher, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 9/2016 to present
Adjunct Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, 9/2017 to present
PAST POSITIONS
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University 8/2003-11/2017
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I study how the spatial and temporal arrangement of habitats influences biological diversity. This issue relates to a number of fundamental questions in ecology that have challenged scientists for decades. Questions include: Why do mountains have extraordinary biodiversity? What is the importance of niche partitioning in maintaining biological diversity? and How does the climate history of a region influence its current patterns of biological diversity? Addressing these types of questions requires integration from a range of fields, including ecology, evolutionary biology, biogeography, climatology, geology and conservation biology because mechanisms that influence biological diversity are played out across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Much of my current work is focused on the role of plant-hummingbird interactions in the generation and maintenance of high tropical diversity; however, I also work on multiple other systems and questions including drivers of global diversity and, most recently, of European montane plants.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Publications WSL
Scientific publication article peer reviewed
König, C.; Wüest, R.O.; Graham, C.H.; Karger, D.N.; Sattler, T.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Zurell, D., 2021: Scale dependency of joint species distribution models challenges interpretation of biotic interactions. Journal of Biogeography, 48: 1541-1551. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14106
Bello, C.; Cintra, A.L.P.; Barreto, E.; Vancine, M.H.; Sobral-Souza, T.; Graham, C.H.; Galetti, M., 2021: Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest. Biological Invasions, 23: 741-754. doi: 10.1007/s10530-020-02400-8
Luza, A.L.; Graham, C.H.; Hartz, S.M.; Karger, D.N., 2021: Functional redundancy of non-volant small mammals increases in human-modified habitats. Journal of Biogeography, 48, 12: 2967-2980. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14264
Calpa-Anaguano, E.V.; Graham, C.H.; Da Silva, F.R., 2021: Pleistocene climate oscillations and habitat connectivity contributed to avian beta-diversity in the megadiverse Colombian Paramo ecosystems. Journal of Biogeography, 48, 12: 3004-3015. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14251
Clark, J.L.; Tobar, F.; Clavijo, L.; Perret, M.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Three new species of Columnea (Gesneriaceae) from the western Andean slopes of Ecuador and Colombia. PhytoKeys, 182: 67-82. doi: 10.3897/PHYTOKEYS.182.69016
Tinoco, B.A.; Latta, S.C.; Astudillo, P.X.; Nieto, A.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Temporal stability in species richness but reordering in species abundances within avian assemblages of a tropical Andes conservation hot spot. Biotropica, 53, 6: 1673-1684. doi: 10.1111/btp.13016
Barreto, E.; Rangel, T.F.; Coelho, M.T.P.; Cassemiro, F.A.S.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Spatial variation in direct and indirect effects of climate and productivity on species richness of terrestrial tetrapods. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 30, 9: 1899-1908. doi: 10.1111/geb.13357
Suarez, F.T.; López, M.F.; Gavilanes, M.J.; Monteros, M.F.; García, T.S.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Three new endemic species of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae, Pleurothallidinae) from the highlands of Ecuador. PhytoKeys, 180: 111-132. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.180.62671
Lim, M.C.W.; Bi, K.; Witt, C.C.; Graham, C.H.; Dávalos, L.M., 2021: Pervasive genomic signatures of local adaptation to altitude across highland specialist andean hummingbird populations. Journal of Heredity, 112, 3: 229-240. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esab008
La Sorte, F.A.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Phenological synchronization of seasonal bird migration with vegetation greenness across dietary guilds. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90: 343-355. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13345
Shankar, A.; Powers, D.R.; Dávalos, L.M.; Graham, C.H., 2020: The allometry of daily energy expenditure in hummingbirds: an energy budget approach. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89, 5: 1254-1261. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13185
Saladin, B.; Pellissier, L.; Graham, C.H.; Nobis, M.P.; Salamin, N.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2020: Rapid climate change results in long-lasting spatial homogenization of phylogenetic diversity. Nature Communications, 11: 4663 (8 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18343-6
Ogutcen, E.; Durand, K.; Wolowski, M.; Clavijo, L.; Graham, C.; Glauser, G.; Perret, M., 2020: Chemical bBasis of floral color signals in Gesneriaceae: the effect of alternative anthocyanin pathways. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11: 604389 (14 pp.). doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.604389
Guevara, E.A.; Santander G., T.; Espinosa, R.; Graham, C.H., 2020: Aquatic bird communities in Andean lakes of Ecuador are increasingly dissimilar over time. Ecological Indicators, 121: 107044 (9 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107044
Elith, J.; Graham, C.H.; Valavi, R.; Abegg, M.; Bruce, C.; Ford, A.; Guisan, A.; Hijmans, R.J.; Huettmann, F.; Lohmann, L.; Loiselle, B.; Moritz, C.; Overton, J.; Townsend Peterson, A.; Phillips, S.; Richardson, K.; Williams, S.E.; Wiser, S.K.; Wohlgemuth, T.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2020: Presence-only and presence-absence data for comparing species distribution modeling methods. Biodiversity Informatics, 15, 2: 69-80. doi: 10.17161/bi.v15i2.13384
Shankar, A.; Schroeder, R.J.; Wethington, S.M.; Graham, C.H.; Powers, D.R., 2020: Hummingbird torpor in context: duration, more than temperature, is the key to nighttime energy savings. Journal of Avian Biology, 51, 5: e02305 (14 pp.). doi: 10.1111/jav.02305
Leitão, P.J.; Andrew, C.J.; Engelhardt, E.K.; Graham, C.H.; Martinez-Almoyna, C.; Mimet, A.; Pinkert, S.; Schröder, B.; Voskamp, A.; Hof, C.; Fritz, S.A., 2020: Macroecology as a hub between research disciplines: opportunities, challenges and possible ways forward. Journal of Biogeography, 47, 1: 13-15. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13751
Brun, P.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Graham, C.H.; Lavergne, S.; Pellissier, L.; Münkemüller, T.; Thuiller, W., 2019: The productivity-biodiversity relationship varies across diversity dimensions. Nature Communications, 10: 5691 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13678-1
Saladin, B.; Thuiller, W.; Graham, C.H.; Lavergne, S.; Maiorano, L.; Salamin, N.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2019: Environment and evolutionary history shape phylogenetic turnover in European tetrapods. Nature Communications, 10, 1: 249 (9 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08232-4
Luza, A.L.; Graham, C.H.; Hartz, S.M., 2019: A global database on non-volant small mammal composition in natural and human-modified habitats. Data in Brief, 23: 103842 (10 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.103842
Shankar, A.; Graham, C.H.; Canepa, J.R.; Wethington, S.M.; Powers, D.R., 2019: Hummingbirds budget energy flexibly in response to changing resources. Functional Ecology, 33, 10: 1904-1916. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13404
Barreto, E.; Graham, C.H.; Rangel, T.F., 2019: Environmental factors explain the spatial mismatches between species richness and phylogenetic diversity of terrestrial mammals. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28, 12: 1855-1865. doi: 10.1111/geb.12999
Tinoco, B.A.; Graham, L.; Astudillo, P.X.; Nieto, A.; Aguilar, J.M.; Latta, S.C.; Graham, C.H., 2019: Survival estimates of bird species across altered habitats in the tropical Andes. Journal of Field Ornithology, 90, 2: 105-116. doi: 10.1111/jofo.12293
Witt, C.C.; Lim, M.C.W.; Graham, C.H.; Dávalos, L.M., 2019: Parallel molecular evolution in pathways, genes, and sites in high-elevation hummingbirds revealed by comparative transcriptomics. Genome Biology and Evolution, 11, 6: 1552-1572. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evz101
Pontarp, M.; Bunnefeld, L.; Cabral, J.S.; Etienne, R.S.; Fritz, S.A.; Gillespie, R.; Graham, C.H.; Hagen, O.; Hartig, F.; Huang, S.; Jansson, R.; Maliet, O.; Münkemüller, T.; Pellissier, L.; Rangel, T.F.; Storch, D.; Wiegand, T.; Hurlbert, A.H., 2019: The latitudinal diversity gradient: novel understanding through mechanistic eco-evolutionary models. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 34, 3: 211-223. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.11.009
Radeloff, V.C.; Dubinin, M.; Coops, N.C.; Allen, A.M.; Brooks, T.M.; Clayton, M.K.; Costa, G.C.; Graham, C.H.; Helmers, D.P.; Ives, A.R.; Kolesov, D.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Rapacciuolo, G.; Razenkova, E.; Suttidate, N.; Young, B.E.; Zhu, L.; Hobi, M.L., 2019: The dynamic habitat indices (DHIs) from MODIS and global biodiversity. Remote Sensing of Environment, 222: 204-214. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.12.009
Rapacciuolo, G.; Graham, C.H.; Marin, J.; Behm, J.E.; Costa, G.C.; Hedges, S.B.; Helmus, M.R.; Radeloff, V.C.; Young, B.E.; Brooks, T.M., 2019: Species diversity as a surrogate for conservation of phylogenetic and functional diversity in terrestrial vertebrates across the Americas. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 1: 53-61. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0744-7
Zurell, D.; Graham, C.H.; Gallien, L.; Thuiller, W.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2018: Long-distance migratory birds threatened by multiple independent risks from global change. Nature Climate Change, 8: 992-996. doi: 10.1038/s41558-018-0312-9
Zurell, D.; Gallien, L.; Graham, C.H.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2018: Do long-distance migratory birds track their niche through seasons?. Journal of Biogeography, 45, 7: 1459-1468. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13351
Pellissier, L.; Albouy, C.; Bascompte, J.; Farwig, N.; Graham, C.; Loreau, M.; Maglianesi, M.A.; Melián, C.J.; Pitteloud, C.; Roslin, T.; Rohr, R.; Saavedra, S.; Thuiller, W.; Woodward, G.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Gravel, D., 2018: Comparing species interaction networks along environmental gradients. Biological Reviews, 93, 2: 785-800. doi: 10.1111/brv.12366
Graham, C.H.; Weinstein, B.G., 2018: Towards a predictive model of species interaction beta diversity. Ecology Letters, 21, 9: 1299-1310. doi: 10.1111/ele.13084
Tinoco, B.A.; Santillán, V.E.; Graham, C.H., 2018: Land use change has stronger effects on functional diversity than taxonomic diversity in tropical Andean hummingbirds. Ecology and Evolution, 8, 6: 3478-3490. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3813
Marin, J.; Rapacciuolo, G.; Costa, G.C.; Graham, C.H.; Brooks, T.M.; Young, B.E.; Radeloff, V.C.; Behm, J.E.; Helmus, M.R.; Hedges, S.B., 2018: Evolutionary time drives global tetrapod diversity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285, 1872: 20172378 (8 pp.). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2378
Graham, C.H.; Storch, D.; Machac, A., 2018: Phylogenetic scale in ecology and evolution. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27, 2: 175-187. doi: 10.1111/geb.12686
Machac, A.; Graham, C.H.; Storch, D., 2018: Ecological controls of mammalian diversification vary with phylogenetic scale. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27, 1: 32-46. doi: 10.1111/geb.12642
Holt, B.G.; Costa, G.C.; Penone, C.; Lessard, J.; Brooks, T.M.; Davidson, A.D.; Hedges, S.; Radeloff, V.C.; Rahbek, C.; Rondinini, C.; Graham, C.H., 2018: Environmental variation is a major predictor of global trait turnover in mammals. Journal of Biogeography, 45, 1: 225-237. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13091
Weinstein, B.G.; Graham, C.H.; Parra, J.L., 2017: The role of environment, dispersal and competition in explaining reduced co-occurrence among related species. PLoS One, 12, 11: e0185493 (16 pp.). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185493
Rapacciuolo, G.; Marin, J.; Costa, G.C.; Helmus, M.R.; Behm, J.E.; Brooks, T.M.; Hedges, S.B.; Radeloff, V.C.; Young, B.E.; Graham, C.H., 2017: The signature of human pressure history on the biogeography of body mass in tetrapods. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 26, 9: 1022-1034. doi: 10.1111/geb.12612
Guevara, E.A.; Hipo, R.; Poveda, C.; Rojas, B.; Graham, C.H.; Santander G., T., 2017: Plant and habitat use by Black-breasted Pufflegs (Eriocnemis nigrivestis), a critically endangered hummingbird. Journal of Field Ornithology, 88, 3: 229-235. doi: 10.1111/jofo.12208
Brum, F.T.; Graham, C.H.; Costa, G.C.; Hedges, S.B.; Penone, C.; Radeloff, V.C.; Rondinini, C.; Loyola, R.; Davidson, A.D., 2017: Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 114, 29: 7641-7646. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1706461114
Powers, D.R.; Langland, K.M.; Wethington, S.M.; Powers, S.D.; Graham, C.H.; Tobalske, B.W., 2017: Hovering in the heat: effects of environmental temperature on heat regulation in foraging hummingbirds. Royal Society Open Science, 4, 12: 171056 (14 pp.). doi: 10.1098/rsos.171056
Davidson, A.D.; Shoemaker, K.T.; Weinstein, B.; Costa, G.C.; Brooks, T.M.; Ceballos, G.; Radeloff, V.C.; Rondinini, C.; Graham, C.H., 2017: Geography of current and future global mammal extinction risk. PLoS One, 12, 11: e0186934 (18 pp.). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186934
Graham, L.J.; Weinstein, B.G.; Supp, S.R.; Graham, C.H., 2017: Future geographic patterns of novel and disappearing assemblages across three dimensions of diversity: a case study with Ecuadorian hummingbirds. Diversity and Distributions, 23, 8: 944-954. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12587
Broennimann, O.; Fitzpatrick, M.C.; Pearman, P.B.; Petitpierre, B.; Pellissier, L.; Yoccoz, N.G.; Thuiller, W.; Fortin, M.-J.; Randin, C.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Graham, C.H.; Guisan, A., 2012: Measuring ecological niche overlap from occurrence and spatial environmental data. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21, 4: 481-497. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00698.x
Svenning, J.; Fitzpatrick, M.C.; Normand, S.; Graham, C.H.; Pearman, P.B.; Iverson, L.R.; Skov, F., 2010: Geography, topography, and history affect realized-to-potential tree species richness patterns in Europe. Ecography, 33, 6: 1070-1080. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06301.x
Albert, C.H.; Yoccoz, N.G.; Edwards Jr., T.C.; Graham, C.H.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Thuiller, W., 2010: Sampling in ecology and evolution – bridging the gap between theory and practice. Ecography, 33, 6: 1028-1037. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06421.x
Pearman, P.B.; D'Amen, M.; Graham, C.H.; Thuiller, W.; Zimmermann, N.E., 2010: Within-taxon niche structure: niche conservation, divergence and predicted effects of climate change. Ecography, 33, 6: 990-1003. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06443.x
Guisan, A.; Zimmermann, N.E.; Elith, J.; Graham, C.H.; Phillips, S.; Peterson, A.T., 2007: What matters for predicting the occurrences of trees: techniques, data, or species' characteristics?. Ecological Monographs, 77, 4: 615-630. doi: 10.1890/06-1060.1
Elith, J.; Graham, C.H.; Anderson, R.P.; Dudík, M.; Ferrier, S.; Guisan, A.; Hijmans, R.J.; Huettmann, F.; Leathwick, J.R.; Lehmann, A.; Li, J.; Lohmann, L.G.; Loiselle, B.A.; Manion, G.; Moritz, C.; Nakamura, M.; Nakazawa, Y.; Overton, J.McC.; Peterson, A.T.; ... Zimmermann, N.E., 2006: Novel methods improve prediction of species' distributions from occurrence data. Ecography, 29, 2: 129-151. doi: 10.1111/j.2006.0906-7590.04596.x
Further scientific publications
Moor, H.; Gossner, M.M.; Graham, C.; Hobi, M.L.; Holderegger, R.; Reber, U.; Altermatt, F.; Logar, I.; Matthews, B.; Narwani, A.; Seehausen, O.; Shipley, R., 2021: Biodiversitätsschutz dank Ökosystem-übergreifendem Denken. Forschungsinitiative Blau-Grüne Biodiversität (BGB). Aqua & Gas, 101, 12: 44-49.
Graham, C.; Wüest Karpati, R., 2021: WSL Biodiversity Center. In: Ferretti, M.; Fischer, C.; Gessler, A. (eds), 2021: Towards an advanced inventorying and monitoring system for the Swiss forest. Towards an advanced inventorying and monitoring system for the Swiss forest, Birmensdorf. 51-52.
Engler, J.O.; Stiels, D.; Brambilla, M.; Graham, C.H., 2017: Special issue: state and progress in avian species distribution models. Journal of Avian Biology, 48, 12: 1481-1482. doi: 10.1111/jav.01599
Zimmermann, N.E.; Edwards Jr., T.C.; Graham, C.H.; Pearman, P.B.; Svenning, J., 2010: New trends in species distribution modelling. Ecography, 33, 6: 985-989. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06953.x
Magazine article and brochures
Tobar, F.; Nieto, A.; Richter, F.; Gavilanes, M.J.; Santander G., T.; Marcayata, A.; Pérez, Á.J.; Cevallos, D.; Guevara, E.A.; Rea, E.; Graham, C.H., 2021: Plants of Mashpi Reserve visited by hummingbirds. Mashpi Reserve, Quito, Pichincha-Ecuador. Field guide, 1372. 15 p.
Perret, M.; Clark, J.L.; Graham, C.; Tobar, F., 2021: Gesneriaceae of Pichincha. Pichincha Province, Ecuador. Field Guide, 1323. 11 p.
Bustos, A.; Nieto, A.; Zanata, T.B.; Graham, C.; Biasutti, C.; De Oliveira, D.; Varassin, I.G., 2020: Beija-flores. Os cupidos da Mata Atlântica. Interações de seis espécies de beija-flor em Santa Teresa, ES: guia de campo. 31 p.
Tobar, F.; Santander G., T.; Guevara, E.A.; Pérez, Á.J.; Rea, E.; Cevallos, D.; Artega, W.; Poveda, C.; Rojas, B.G.; Graham, C., 2020: Plants of Yanacocha and Verdecocha Reserve visited by hummingbirds. Yanacocha-Verdecocha, Quito, Pichincha-Ecuador. Field Guide, 1237. 8 p.
Tobar, F.; Nieto, A.; Guevara, E.A.; Gavilanes, M.J.; Richter, F.; Pérez, Á.J.; Marcayata, A.; Rea, E.; Cevallos, D.; Graham, C., 2020: Plants of Las Gralarias Reserve visited by hummingbirds. Las Gralarias, Quito, Pichincha-Ecuador. Field Guide, 1268. 10 p.