Lucy Alford is a keen zoologist whose specific interests lie in the areas of entomology, macroecology, physiology and behavior. Following on from her PhD centered on insect thermal biology and resilience to temperature extremes, she is currently engaged in a challenging and exciting project focused on resilient systems. For this, she is interested in applying her knowledge of resilience theory within an ecological context to the wider biological, physical and social sciences to further increase current knowledge on resilient systems. In particular, Lucy is interested in the role redundant capacity plays in building resilience.
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Lucy Alford completed her PhD (NERC-funded) in Arthropod Ecophysiology from the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Professors Jeff Bale and Tim Blackburn in 2010. This comparative study investigated latitudinal variation in aphid thermal biology with implications for aphid clonal mixing throughout Europe and the potential impacts of global climate change on the pest species. Since her PhD, Lucy has taken up a leadership role as the co-coordinator of a multidisciplinary research team, in which she integrates the efforts of scientists across the University of Birmingham and directs their research initiatives exploring the role of redundancy in resilient systems.
Lucy Alford’s current post doctoral research involves an exciting multidisciplinary project exploring the role of redundancy in resilient systems across the biological, physical and social sciences. More specifically she is interested in how redundant capacity increases resilience to perturbation through acting as an excess capacity, a form of functional redundancy enabling functional compensation and as a redundant element on which evolution can act. From this, she hopes to establish how redundancy can be built into systems in order to aid resilience to external shocks.
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Alford L., Hughes, G.E., Blackburn T.M. and Bale J.S. (2012). ‘Walking speed adaptation ability of Myzus persicae to different temperature conditions. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 102, 303-313.
Alford L., Blackburn T.M. and Bale J.S. (2012). ‘Effects of acclimation and latitude on the activity thresholds of the aphid Myzus persicae in Europe. Journal of Applied Entomology, 136, 332-346.
Freer M., Alford L., Bunce C.M., Christian J.N. et al. (2012). ‘Reversing the redundant’. Public Service Review: UK Science and Technology, 4, 62-63.
Alford L., Blackburn T.M. and Bale J.S. (2012). 'Effect of latitude and acclimation on the lethal temperatures of the peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae'. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 14, 69-79.
Hughes G.E., Alford L., Sterk G. and Bale J.S. (2010) 'Thermal activity thresholds of the predatory mirid Nesidiocoris tenuis: implications for its efficacy as a biological control agent.' BioControl, 55, 493-501.