James D. M. Speed

James D. M. Speed is a Professor at the Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His career includes roles as a Postdoctoral Fellow (2009-2016), Associate Professor (2016-2021), and current Professor. He holds fellowships from NTNU’s Outstanding Academic Programme and the Norwegian Young Research Talents Programme.

Education:

• BSc (Hons.) Biology, University of York (2001-2005)
• PhD Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen (2006-2009)

Research Interests:

Focuses on herbivory-climate interactions, biogeography, and ecoinformatics. Key areas include:

• Ecological impacts of vertebrate herbivores
• Functional and phylogenetic biogeography
• Use of natural history collections for spatiotemporal analysis

Publications Overview:

Recent work addresses borealization of Arctic ecosystems, invasive plant threats, and moose browsing effects. Key themes include climate adaptation, herbivore community dynamics, and LIDAR-based forest analysis.

Awards:

• NTNU Outstanding Academic Fellows Programme
• Research Council of Norway Young Research Talents Project

Advising & Grants:

Supervised over 30 PhD and Master’s students across institutions. Active in projects like DISENTANGLE (herbivory-climate interactions), SustHerb (moose management), and CHARTER (Arctic biodiversity drivers).

Labs & Teams:

Leads interdisciplinary teams analyzing natural history collections and ecological datasets. Collaborates internationally on Arctic and boreal ecosystem studies.