Andrew D. Barnes

Dr. Andrew D. Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, specializing in tropical ecology and biodiversity research.

His research focuses on the structure, stability, and functioning of macro-invertebrate communities across rainforest transformation systems in Sumatra, Indonesia. He investigates niche versus neutral processes in beta diversity patterns, interaction network structures, and employs multi-trophic food-web models to analyze population stability and ecosystem processes like decomposition under varying land-use regimes including secondary rainforest, jungle rubber, rubber plantations, and oil palm systems.

Dr. Barnes is actively involved in the Collaborative Research Centre 990 (CRC 990) project group B01, examining land-use impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in tropical landscapes. His work integrates field ecology with complex modeling approaches to address critical questions in conservation biology and sustainable land management.