Simon Hart
Source: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/25887 Parent: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1246
Dr
Simon Hart
Email: : s.hart@uq.edu.au
Phone: : +61 7 344 31074
Positions
Affiliate of ARC COE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture : ARC COE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture : Faculty of Science
Affiliate of Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science : Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science : Faculty of Science
Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Biology : School of the Environment : Faculty of Science
Overview
Background
I am an ecologist and the goal of my research is to understand the processes driving the rise and fall of populations of animals and plants over time.
We focus on the biology of flowing freshwater ecosystems — streams, rivers, and associated wetlands. These systems provide wonderfully challenging opportunities for combining theory, observations, and experiments to discover how nature works.
More importantly, freshwater ecosystems are, per unit area, the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, and yet they remain underexplored, underappreciated, and under threat.
We hope our work can help to redress these issues.
You can find out more about our group here: http://hartlab-ecology.com
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Availability
Dr Simon Hart is: : Available for supervision : Media expert
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Works
Search Professor Simon Hart’s works on UQ eSpace
All (56) Journal Article (29) Other Outputs (25) Book Chapter (2)
Featured
2023
Journal Article
How does facilitation influence the outcome of species interactions?
Hart, Simon P. (2023). How does facilitation influence the outcome of species interactions?. Journal of Ecology, 111 (10), 2094-2104. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.14189
How does facilitation influence the outcome of species interactions?
Featured
2022
Journal Article
Phenotypic plasticity promotes species coexistence
Hess, Cyrill, Levine, Jonathan M., Turcotte, Martin M. and Hart, Simon P. (2022). Phenotypic plasticity promotes species coexistence. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6 (9), 1256-1261. doi: 10.1038/s41559-022-01826-8
Phenotypic plasticity promotes species coexistence
Featured
2022
Journal Article
Does deterministic coexistence theory matter in a finite world?
Schreiber, Sebastian J., Levine, Jonathan M., Godoy, Oscar, Kraft, Nathan J. B. and Hart, Simon P. (2022). Does deterministic coexistence theory matter in a finite world?. Ecology, 104 (1) e3838, 1-17. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3838
Does deterministic coexistence theory matter in a finite world?
Featured
2019
Journal Article
Effects of rapid evolution on species coexistence
Hart, Simon P., Turcotte, Martin M. and Levine, Jonathan M. (2019). Effects of rapid evolution on species coexistence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (6), 2112-2117. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1816298116
Effects of rapid evolution on species coexistence
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Climate-smart sustainable agriculture in low-to-intermediate shade agroforests
Blaser, W. J., Oppong, J., Hart, S. P., Landolt, J., Yeboah, E. and Six, J. (2018). Climate-smart sustainable agriculture in low-to-intermediate shade agroforests. Nature Sustainability, 1 (5), 234-239. doi: 10.1038/s41893-018-0062-8
Climate-smart sustainable agriculture in low-to-intermediate shade agroforests
Featured
2017
Journal Article
The spatial scales of species coexistence
Hart, Simon P., Usinowicz, Jacob and Levine, Jonathan M. (2017). The spatial scales of species coexistence. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1 (8), 1066-1073. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0230-7
The spatial scales of species coexistence
Featured
2016
Journal Article
How variation between individuals affects species coexistence
Hart, Simon P., Schreiber, Sebastian J. and Levine, Jonathan M. (2016). How variation between individuals affects species coexistence. Ecology Letters, 19 (8), 825-838. doi: 10.1111/ele.12618
How variation between individuals affects species coexistence
Featured
2025
Journal Article
The unrealized potential of agroforestry for an emissions-intensive agricultural commodity
Becker, Alexander, Wegner, Jan D., Dawoe, Evans, Schindler, Konrad, Thompson, William J., Bunn, Christian, Garrett, Rachael D., Castro-Llanos, Fabio, Hart, Simon P. and Blaser-Hart, Wilma J. (2025). The unrealized potential of agroforestry for an emissions-intensive agricultural commodity. Nature Sustainability, 8 (9), 994-1003. doi: 10.1038/s41893-025-01608-7
The unrealized potential of agroforestry for an emissions-intensive agricultural commodity
2025
Journal Article
Diversity and Distribution of Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes on Australian Islands
Ho, Samuel C. L., Hart, Simon P., Hammer, Michael P., Baxter, Peter W. J., Unmack, Peter J. and Kark, Salit (2025). Diversity and Distribution of Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes on Australian Islands. Diversity and Distributions, 31 (7) e70062, 7. doi: 10.1111/ddi.70062
Diversity and Distribution of Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes on Australian Islands
2025
Journal Article
Ecosystem changes caused by hydrological change are associated with population decline in a formerly-common grazing herbivore
Blaser-Hart, W. J., Shanungu, G. K., Edwards, P. J., Harms, J., Hart, S. P. H., Ellenbroek, G. A., van Gils, H. A. M. J., Simukonda, C. and Olde Venterink, H. (2025). Ecosystem changes caused by hydrological change are associated with population decline in a formerly-common grazing herbivore. Ecosystems, 28 (1) 14, 1. doi: 10.1007/s10021-024-00951-8
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part D)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part D). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/2f89edd
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part D)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part D)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part D). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/8e8eaa1
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part D)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images & polygons CIV Guiglo)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images & polygons CIV Guiglo). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/d45b49f
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images & polygons CIV Guiglo)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2021 point clouds)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2021 point clouds). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/53e3189
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2021 point clouds)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part E)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part E). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/abfae39
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part E)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part A)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part A). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/ee5999e
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2022 Part A)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part F)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part F). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/0e1fdd6
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Raw drone images GHA 2021 Part F)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 point clouds)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 point clouds). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/6a832c4
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 point clouds)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 High Shade all exports)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 High Shade all exports). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/befec92
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps GHA 2022 High Shade all exports)
2025
Other Outputs
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps CIV 2021 all exports)
Hart, Wilma J. Blaser and Hart, Simon (2025). The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps CIV 2021 all exports). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/3442358
The unrealised potential of agroforestry (Processed maps CIV 2021 all exports)
Funding
Current funding
- 2024 - 2027
Improving biodiversity outcomes in West African cocoa
Lindt Cocoa Foundation
Past funding
- 2022 - 2025
Rapid evolution, and the dynamics and stability of ecological communities
ARC Discovery Projects
Open grant - 2021 - 2023
Spatially explicit recommendations for optimal levels of shade-tree cover for sustainable cocoa production
European Cocoa Association AISBL
Open grant - 2020 - 2024
Methods and a tool for remotely estimating shade-tree cover & carbon stocks, and for developing spatially explicit recommendations for cocoa agroforests
ETH Zurich
Supervision
Availability
Dr Simon Hart is: : Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
Our international team of ecologists and evolutionary biologists based at prestigious universities in Australia, the USA, and Canada has a fully-funded (including both salary and research funds) PhD project exploring how rapid evolution influences population dynamics in an era of global environmental change.
Understanding why population sizes of plants and animals rise and fall is a fundamental problem in ecology, and underpins our ability to predict environmental impacts, and to manage threatened, harvested and pest species. Dominant explanations for the rise and fall of species have focused on environmental impacts and species interactions but have typically excluded the ability of species to rapidly evolve to changing conditions. This project will combine theory, lab and field experiments, and molecular tools to understand when and how rapid evolution affects the dynamics of plants and animals in an era of global environmental change.
The project will focus on species in subtropical freshwater ecosystems in Southeast Queensland, Australia. These systems provide wonderfully challenging opportunities for combining theory, observations, and experiments to discover how nature works. And importantly, freshwater ecosystems are, per unit area, the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, yet they remain under explored, underappreciated, and under threat.
Students on this project will receive world class training at the cutting edge of eco-evolutionary biology, will have the opportunity to develop strong professional networks nationally and internationally, and will be ideally placed to pursue a career in the university, government, or private sectors.
The successful candidate will join a young but experienced team of ecologists and evolutionary biologists to work on a funded Australian Research Council Discovery Project “How does rapid evolution affect the dynamics and stability of ecological communities?” The student will be based in the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and will be supervised by Dr Simon Hart and Dr Masato Yamamichi. Students will be co-advised by scientists at MIT (Assoc. Prof Serguei Saavedra), the University of British Columbia (Assist. Prof Rachel Germain), and the University of Arkansas (Prof. Adam Siepielski), and will have opportunities for international travel.
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Supervision history
Current supervision
- Doctor Philosophy
##### The effects of rapid evolution on ecological dynamics and stability in variable environments
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Richard Fuller - Doctor Philosophy
##### Socio-ecological drivers of natural forest regeneration in cocoa-growing landscapes.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Dwyer, Professor Richard Fuller, Dr Wilma J. Blaser Hart - Doctor Philosophy
##### The effects of rapid evolution and phenotypic plasticity on ecological dynamics in fluctuating environments
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Jan Engelstaedter, Dr Andrew Letten - Doctor Philosophy
##### Improving biodiversity outcomes in West African cocoa
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Richard Fuller, Associate Professor Matthew Luskin, Dr Wilma J. Blaser Hart - Doctor Philosophy
##### Rapid evolution and the dynamics and stability of ecological communities.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Jan Engelstaedter, Dr Andrew Letten - Doctor Philosophy
##### Modelling population dynamics and trophic interactions in freshwater ecosystems, with platypus as a model species
Principal Advisor - Doctor Philosophy
##### Drivers of declining apex predator trends in Asian counties
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Matthew Luskin
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Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Simon Hart directly for media enquiries about:
- biodiversity
- climate change
- conservation
- ecology
- evolution
- freshwater
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External profiles
Personal links
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