Dr Richard Lindsay



Interactions between organisms, both cooperative and competitive, occur in creatures from complex humans to simple RNA viruses. I am interested in how these ecological interactions evolved and how they influence the success of individuals and populations.

Fungi are model organisms for understanding eukaryotic evolution and represent important systems of study for disease management and food security. My current research is examining nutrient acquisition by fungi, how feeding mechanisms evolve and how external digestion can influence the fitness of a pathogen population.

My previous study was at Cardiff University where I studied the influence of climate change on the interactions between saprotrophic fungi and mycophagous arthropods. From here I developed my interest in the Kingdom of fungi and how their ecology has huge implications for the biota of our planet.