Ross Quick

Profile

My principal research interests lie in investigating how urbanization and other land uses affect interspecies interactions and the consequences this has on ecosystem function and service provision, particularly regarding agriculture and food security. I focus generally (but not exclusively) on insect interactions, as insects often serve as the foundation of food webs and other ecological networks. Insects are crucial in providing key ecosystem services such as pollination and pest regulation, but they may also contribute to disservices, such as reducing crop yield and resilience or acting as disease vectors. Understanding the dynamics between these interactions and (dis)services is a fundamental goal of my research.

By adopting a holistic interdisciplinary approach that includes modeling species interaction networks, conducting crop exclusion experiments, and integrating elements of landscape analysis and social science, I aim to:

a) Understand the impact of urbanisation and environmental heterogeneity on insect community composition and invertebrate food webs in urban agriculture at local and landscape scales. This includes assessing the state of, and potential for, invertebrate pest regulation services to urban agriculture in these systems.

b) Model quantitative pollination networks to evaluate the contributions of different species to crop pollination in urban agriculture. 

c) Quantify the value of pollination and pest regulation services to urban agriculture in monetary terms.

d) Analyse the role of farmer-based organisations or collectives in facilitating knowledge exchange relating to sustainable agiricultural practices that promote ecosystem service provision, and identify shortfalls that limit individual farmers’ access to relevant information.

I am utilizing the city of Accra, Ghana, as a case study to address critical gaps in our understanding of urban agriculture and ecosystem service provision. This approach is particularly relevant given the prevalence of urban farming in Accra and it’s contribution to urban food security, and the limited data available in this context – a trend that is common in developing countries worldwide. By resolving these data gaps, I hope to assist the development of innovative and sustainable planning and policy to build resilient urban food systems and meet biodiversity conservation targets. 

My work is funded by the COMMONPATHS research project through the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). This project focuses on urban resources managed as commons— in Ghana and Switzerland — and examines how the collectives that manage these resources contribute to addressing challenges caused by overconsumption and inequality.

Research interests

• Agroecology
• Urban ecology
• Biodiversity conservation
• Ecosystem services
• Common resource management
• Knowledge exchange
• Sustainability

Qualifications

• MSc Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds
• BSc Biology (Ecology and Conservation), Newcastle University

Research groups and institutes

• Sustainability Research Institute