Dr Martin Wilkes

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Email
m.wilkes@essex.ac.uk -
Location
Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
As an ecologist with an industry background in data science, I am interested in data-driven explanations and predictions of biodiversity change. Utilising large (river basin to global) scale datasets, ecological theory, statistical programming and high performance computing, my mission is to support environmental science, policy and management communities in finding solutions to the challenges of maintaining biodiversity, food production and water security in a changing world. My research interests include Ecology | Biodiversity Science | Fisheries | Biogeography | Metacommunity theory | Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Species Distribution Modelling | Research Software Development
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Biodiversity science and ecological modelling in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Transferable Skills in Life Sciences (BS143)
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Freshwater Ecology (BS352)
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Professional Skills in Tropical Marine Biology (BS708)
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Data Analysis and Visualisation (BS709)
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Data Analysis or Voluntary Placement Programme (Work Based Learning) (BS711)
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Coral Reef Research Skills (Virtual Field Course) (BS720)
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Research Project in Life Sciences (BS832)
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Professional skills for Ecological and Marine Scientists (BS257)
Publications
Journal articles (44)
Wilkes, M., Mckenzie, M., Johnson, A., Hassall, C., Kelly, M., Willby, N. and Brown, L., (2025). Revealing hidden sources of uncertainty in biodiversity trend assessments. Ecography
Mckenzie, M., Brooks, A., Callisto, M., Collins, AL., Durkota, JM., Death, RG., Jones, I., Linares, MS., Matthaei, CD., Monk, WA., Murphy, JF., Wagenhoff, A., Wilkes, M., Wood, PJ. and Mathers, KL., (2024). . Global Change Biology. 30 (1), e17084-
Wilkes, M., Mungee, M., Naura, M., Bell, V. and Brown, L., (2024). . River Research and Applications. 41 (1), 68-81
Handayani, LS., Maulida, S., Rahayu, SR., Razi, NM., Kocabas, M., Kocabas, FK., Wilkes, M., Siti-Azizah, MN., Eriani, K., Fadli, N. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2024). Effect of cryoprotectant and concentration on the sperm quality of walking catfish, Clarias batrachus, post-cryopreservation. Cryoletters. 45 (5), 320-328
Rahayu, SR., Rizal, S., Fadli, N., Raza, I., Lazuardi, MI., Handayani, LS., Razi, NM., Wilkes, M., Siti-Azizah, MN. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2024). Growth Patterns, Condition Factor, and Population Dynamics of Snapper Lutjanus bengalensis and Lutjanus lutjanus (Pisces: Lutjanidae) Harvested from Aceh Waters Indonesia. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences. 40 (2), 1121-1132
Maulida, S., Eriani, K., Fadli, N., Siti-Azizah, MN., Kocabas, FK., Kocabas, M., Wilkes, M., Handayani, LS., Rahayu, SR. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2024). Effect of type and concentration of antioxidant on sperm motility, viability, and DNA integrity of climbing perch Anabas testudineus Bloch, 1792 (Pisces: Anabantidae) post-cryopreservation. Cryobiology. 114, 104851-104851
Brown, LE., Khamis, K., Wilkes, M., Blaen, P., Brittain, JE., Carrivick, JL., Fell, S., Friberg, N., F眉reder, L., Gislason, GM., Hainie, S., Hannah, DM., James, WHM., Lencioni, V., Olafsson, JS., Robinson, CT., Saltveit, SJ., Thompson, C. and Milner, AM., (2023). Author Correction: Functional diversity and community assembly of river invertebrates show globally consistent responses to decreasing glacier cover. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 7 (3), 472-476
Maulida, S., Eriani, K., Fadli, N., Kocaba艧, FK., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2023). Effect of type and concentration of cryoprotectant on the motility, viability, and fertility of climbing perch Anabas testudineus Bloch, 1792 (Pisces: Anabantidae) sperm. Theriogenology. 201, 24-29
Muchlisin, ZA., Afriani, D., Eriani, K., Hasri, I., Nur, FM., Maulida, S., Handayani, LS., Fadli, N., Kocabas, FK., Siti-Azizah, MN. and Wilkes, M., (2023). Improvement of Sperm Quality of the Depik Fish, Rasbora tawarensis, After Cryopreservation Using Antioxidant. Cryoletters. 44 (1), 13-19
Laini, A., Stubbington, R., Beermann, AJ., Burgazzi, G., Datry, T., Viaroli, P., Wilkes, M., Zizka, VMA., Sacc貌, M. and Leese, F., (2023). Dissecting biodiversity: assessing the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure of an insect metacommunity in a river network using morphological and metabarcoding data. The European Zoological Journal. 90 (1), 320-332
Wilkes, M., Carrivick, J., Castella, E., Ilg, C., Cauvy-Fraunie, S., Fell, S., Fureder, L., Huss, M., James, W., Lencioni, V., Robinson, C. and Brown, L., (2023). . Nature Ecology and Evolution. 7 (6), 841-851
Nurlaili, N., Eriani, K., Salma, I., Maulida, S., Riska Rahayu, S., Syafrida Handayani, L., Kocabas, FK., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2023). Effect of Cryoprotectant and Pre-Freezing on the Sperm Motility, Viability and Fertility of Goldfish Carassius Auratus (Pisces: Cyprinidae) Post Short-Term Cryopreservation. Cryoletters. 44 (3), 169-177
McKenzie, M., England, J., Foster, I. and Wilkes, M., (2022). . Ecological Indicators. 134, 108502-108502
McKenzie, M., England, J., Foster, IDL. and Wilkes, MA., (2022). . International Journal of Sediment Research. 37 (1), 128-137
Amir, F., Muchlisin, ZA., Nur, FM., Fadli, N., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M., Tang, UM., Hasan, B., Batubara, AS., Kocabas, FK. and Marimuthu, K., (2022). Effect of increasing water temperature on the physiology and gill histology of Barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Pisces, Perciformes) fingerlings. International Aquatic Research. 14 (4), 263-273
Nur, FM., Batubara, AS., Fadli, N., Rizal, S., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2022). . Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinaria. 31 (1), e020421-
Batubara, AS., Yulianto, D., Muhammadar, AA., Dewiyanti, I., Siti鈥怉zizah, MN., Efizon, D., Wilkes, M., Fadli, N. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2021). Skeletal structure as taxonomic tool for identification of mullet species (Teleostei: Mugilidae) from Aceh waters, Indonesia. Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 37 (5), 697-705
Batubara, AS., Muchlisin, ZA., Efizon, D., Elvyra, R., Fadli, N., Rizal, S., Siti-Azizah, MN. and Wilkes, M., (2021). DNA barcoding (COI genetic marker) revealed hidden diversity of Cyprinid fish (Barbonymus spp.) from Aceh Waters, Indonesia. Biharean Biologist. 15 (1), 39-47
Wilkes, MA., Mckenzie, M., Naura, M., Allen, L., Morris, M., Van De Wiel, M., Dumbrell, AJ., Bani, A., Lashford, C., Lavers, T. and England, J., (2021). . Water. 13 (23), 3339-3339
Maulida, S., Eriani, K., Nur, FM., Fadli, N., Batubara, AS., Muhammadar, AA., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2021). . Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science. 58, e168702-e168702
Eagle, LJB., Milner, AM., Klaar, MJ., Carrivick, JL., Wilkes, M. and Brown, LE., (2021). . The Journal of animal ecology. 90 (9), 2135-2146
England, J., Angelopoulos, N., Cooksley, S., Dodd, J., Gill, A., Gilvear, D., Johnson, M., Naura, M., O鈥橦are, M., Tree, A., Wheeldon, J. and Wilkes, MA., (2021). . Water. 13 (23), 3352-3352
Wilkes, MA., Edwards, F., Jones, JI., Murphy, JF., England, J., Friberg, N., Hering, D., Poff, NL., Usseglio鈥怭olatera, P., Verberk, WCEP., Webb, J. and Brown, LE., (2020). Trait鈥恇ased ecology at large scales: Assessing functional trait correlations, phylogenetic constraints and spatial variability using open data. Global Change Biology. 26 (12), 7255-7267
Gan, WY., Sulaiman, N., Law, LS., Zalbahar, N., Ahmad Fuzi, SF. and Wilkes, MA., (2020). Exploration of Food-Seeking Behaviour, Food Preparation, and Restrictions to Sufficient Food among the Jahai Sub-Tribe (Indigenous People) in Gerik, Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (1), 348-348
Muchlisin, ZA., Sarah, PI., Aldila, DF., Eriani, K., Hasri, I., Batubara, AS., Nur, FM., Mustaqim, M., Muthmainnah, CR., Abinawanto, A. and Wilkes, M., (2020). Effect of Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and egg yolk on sperm motility, fertility and hatching rates of depikRasbora tawarensis(Pisces: Cyprinidae) eggs after short鈥恡erm cryopreservation. Aquaculture Research. 51 (4), 1700-1705
Nur, FM., Batubara, AS., Eriani, K., Tang, UM., Muhammadar, AA., Siti-Azizah, MN., Wilkes, M., Fadli, N., Rizal, S. and Muchlisin, ZA., (2020). Effect of water temperature on the physiological responses in Betta Rubra, Perugia 1893 (Pisces: Osphronemidae). International Aquatic Research. 12 (3), 209-218
Wilkes, MA., Bennett, J., Burbi, S., Charlesworth, S., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Rayns, F., Schmutz, U., Smith, B., Tilzey, M., Trenchard, L. and Van De Wiel, M., (2020). Making Way for Trees? Changes in Land-Use, Habitats and Protected Areas in Great Britain under 鈥淕lobal Tree Restoration Potential鈥. Sustainability. 12 (14), 5845-5845
McKenzie, M., Mathers, KL., Wood, PJ., England, J., Foster, I., Lawler, D. and Wilkes, M., (2020). Potential physical effects of suspended fine sediment on lotic macroinvertebrates. Hydrobiologia. 847 (3), 697-711
Brown, LE., Aspray, KL., Ledger, ME., Mainstone, C., Palmer, SM., Wilkes, M. and Holden, J., (2019). Sediment deposition from eroding peatlands alters headwater invertebrate biodiversity. Global Change Biology. 25 (2), 602-619
Garc铆a鈥怗ir贸n, J., Wilkes, M., Fern谩ndez鈥怉l谩ez, M. and Fern谩ndez鈥怉l谩ez, C., (2019). Processes structuring macrophyte metacommunities in Mediterranean ponds: Combining novel methods to disentangle the role of dispersal limitation, species sorting and spatial scales. Journal of Biogeography. 46 (3), 646-656
Birnie鈥怗auvin, K., Franklin, P., Wilkes, M. and Aarestrup, K., (2019). Moving beyond fitting fish into equations: Progressing the fish passage debate in the Anthropocene. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 29 (7), 1095-1105
Wilkes, MA., Gittins, JR., Mathers, KL., Mason, R., Casas鈥怣ulet, R., Vanzo, D., Mckenzie, M., Murray鈥怋ligh, J., England, J., Gurnell, A. and Jones, JI., (2019). Physical and biological controls on fine sediment transport and storage in rivers. WIREs Water. 6 (2)
Colin, N., Vill茅ger, S., Wilkes, M., de Sostoa, A. and Maceda-Veiga, A., (2018). Functional diversity measures revealed impacts of non-native species and habitat degradation on species-poor freshwater fish assemblages. Science of The Total Environment. 625, 861-871
Brown, LE., Khamis, K., Wilkes, M., Blaen, P., Brittain, JE., Carrivick, JL., Fell, S., Friberg, N., F眉reder, L., Gislason, GM., Hainie, S., Hannah, DM., James, WHM., Lencioni, V., Olafsson, JS., Robinson, CT., Saltveit, SJ., Thompson, C. and Milner, AM., (2018). Functional diversity and community assembly of river invertebrates show globally consistent responses to decreasing glacier cover. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2 (2), 325-333
England, J. and Wilkes, MA., (2018). Does river restoration work? Taxonomic and functional trajectories at two restoration schemes. Science of The Total Environment. 618, 961-970
Wilkes, M., Baumgartner, L., Boys, C., Silva, LGM., O'Connor, J., Jones, M., Stuart, I., Habit, E., Link, O. and Webb, JA., (2018). Fish鈥怤et: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower. Fish and Fisheries. 19 (4), 677-697
Wilkes, MA., Mckenzie, M. and Webb, JA., (2018). Fish passage design for sustainable hydropower in the temperate Southern Hemisphere: an evidence review. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 28 (1), 117-135
Link, O., Sanhueza, C., Arriagada, P., Brevis, W., Laborde, A., Gonz谩lez, A., Wilkes, M. and Habit, E., (2017). The fish Strouhal number as a criterion for hydraulic fishway design. Ecological Engineering. 103, 118-126
Wilkes, MA., Enders, EC., Silva, AT., Acreman, M. and Maddock, I., (2017). Position choice and swimming costs of juvenile Atlantic salmon salmo salar in turbulent flow. Journal of Ecohydraulics. 2 (1), 16-27
Laborde, A., Gonz谩lez, A., Sanhueza, C., Arriagada, P., Wilkes, M., Habit, E. and Link, O., (2016). Hydropower Development, Riverine Connectivity, and Non-sport Fish Species: criteria for Hydraulic Design of Fishways. River Research and Applications. 32 (9), 1949-1957
Wilkes, MA., Maddock, I., Link, O. and Habit, E., (2016). A Community-Level, Mesoscale Analysis of Fish Assemblage Structure in Shoreline Habitats of a Large River Using Multivariate Regression Trees. River Research and Applications. 32 (4), 652-665
Lawler, DM. and Wilkes, MA., (2016). Towards Improved Fluvial Sediment Impact Assessment (FSIA) approaches within Environmental Impact Assessments. Hrvatski geografski glasnik/Croatian Geographical Bulletin. 77 (02), 7-31
Wilkes, MA., Neverman, AJ., Casas-Mulet, R., Adeva-Bustos, A., McCluskey, AH., Ouellet, V., Vanzo, D., Franklin, PA. and Silva, AT., (2016). Early careers on ecohydraulics: challenges, opportunities and future directions. Journal of Ecohydraulics. 1 (1-2), 102-107
Lawler, DM. and Wilkes, MA., (2015). Towards Improved Fluvial Sediment Impact Assessment (FSIA) approaches within Environmental Impact Assessments. HRVATSKI GEOGRAFSKI GLASNIK-CROATIAN GEOGRAPHICAL BULLETIN. 77 (2), 7-31
Book chapters (1)
Wilkes, MA., Maddock, I., Visser, F. and Acreman, MC., (2013). Incorporating Hydrodynamics into Ecohydraulics: The Role of Turbulence in the Swimming Performance and Habitat Selection of Stream鈥怐welling Fish. In: Ecohydraulics: An Integrated Approach. Wiley. 7- 30. 9780470976005
Conferences (2)
Wilkes, MA., Webb, JA., Pompeu, PS., Silva, LGM., Vowles, AS., Baker, CF., Franklin, P., Link, O., Habit, E. and Kemp, PS., (2019). Not just a migration problem:
Wilkes, MA., Mckenzie, M., Murphy, JF. and Chadd, RP., (2017). Assessing the Mechanistic Basis for Fine Sediment Biomonitoring: Inconsistencies among the Literature, Traits and Indices
Grants and funding
2023
Mapping Aquatic Resources and Risks in Kenya锟絪 largest river basin (MARRK)
Academy of Medical Sciences
Aiming for Nature Recovery: Data Science to Inform Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration
Biodiversify Ltd
Extending the impact of Landscape Decisions research on UK freshwater ecological monitoring
University of Leicester (Funder)
2022
Beyond 锟紾ood Ecological Status锟: Making better use of freshwaters as sentinels of landscape functioning (BeyondGES)
University of Leicester (Funder)
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