Short presentation

PhD Fellow in Arctic Plant Diversity and Pollination Networks

I am a PhD Fellow at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen. My work focusses on understanding plant diversity and ecological networks in high-latitude systems undergoing change, using molecular and computational tools to unveil properties of biodiversity and patterns in species interactions that are otherwise difficult to observe. I aim to shed light on the structure, diversity, and properties of Arctic plant-pollinator interaction networks, using molecular techniques to generate network links between bipartite networks (where plants form one set of nodes, pollinators another, and where DNA informs the weighted edges between node sets). Arctic regions are at the forefront of the climate change crisis, and understanding the ways and scales in which plants are dependent on pollinators and vice versa is critical for predicting the consequences of future environmental change on Arctic terrestrial ecosystems, and for supporting public awareness, conservation efforts, and policy development to protect Arctic biodiversity. 

To build our networks, I apply DNA metabarcoding techniques to pollinators we collected in Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, and isolate the pollen DNA from their bodies in order to compare this DNA to a custom barcode reference library our group has created for the flora of Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland. At a more foundational level, our group has also worked on mass curating and leveraging natural history collections of digitised herbarium specimens and research-grade observations to inform on biodiversity over space and time, while also using the resulting metacollection to shed light on Kalaallit Nunaat Greenlandic plant diversity. My PhD fellowship is enabling me to engage with a myriad of topics I am passionate about, including Arctic and community ecology, ecological network theory, plant-pollinator interactions, global change biology, and combining fieldwork-based and collections-based data acquisition and research. Through my PhD fellowship, I have been working to grow my skillset in fieldwork sampling, molecular techniques, bioinformatic processing, statistical programming, large-scale data curation and analysis, science communication and outreach, interdisciplinary collaboration, research supervision, and academic writing. 

On a broader level, I am driven by understanding the ecological and evolutionary impacts of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and shifts in biodiversity on individuals, species, networks, and ecosystems. While currently working on Polar ecosystems, I am interested in numerous other ecological communities and interacting systems, driven by my goal to generate research output that has direct and meaningful conservation applications. 

 
I started my PhD Fellowship in November 2022, and I will be finishing by the end of June, 2026 and thereafter searching for Postdoc and other collaboration opportunities. 

Before this PhD Fellowship, I completed the dual degree Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biology, where I studied and conducted research at four institutions over two years (namely in Sweden, France, Germany, and Norway/Svalbard). I hold an MSc in Evolution, Ecology and Systematics from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany), and an MSc in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution from The University of Montpellier (France). Before this, I completed my BSc in Global Sustainability Science (majoring in water, climate, and ecosystem science) at Utrecht University (The Netherlands).

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/brandonswhitley.bsky.social

Web of Science ResearcherID: HHC-0933-2022

CV

Education

11/2022-Ongoing

PhD Fellow in Arctic Plant Diversity and Pollination Networks, Natural History of Museum Denmark, University of Copenhagen. 

• Developed an open-access workflow to mass curate digitized biodiversity occurrence data from GBIF (herbaria and human observations) to harmonize taxon names and generate digital metacollections and species lists. Applied workflow to the flora of Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland.
• Using species list for Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, co-developed DNA barcode reference library for key plant barcodes, using existing barcode records and newly sequenced barcodes of field specimens.
• Applied DNA metabarcoding to the pollen of insect specimens collected in Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland to study plant-pollinator interaction network properties on a Pan-Greenlandic scale.
• Extensive fieldwork planning and leading in Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, totaling 12 weeks over two field seasons (2023 and 2024). Extensive DNA metabarcoding experience.
• Additional: curation relating to the Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland herbarium, co-supervision of MSc student, laboratory and fieldwork protocol design, data pipeline development, specialist PhD courses, outreach (student mentoring, developing and teaching courses, ECR representative positions, small grant administration), project team coordination, development of project collaborations, research visits to Aotearoa New Zealand (2025) and Poland (2025).

08/2020-10/2022

Dual MSc MEME Program - Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biology

MSc in Evolution, Ecology and Systematics from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

MSc in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution from The University of Montpellier, France

• Full EMJMD Scholarship – awarded by European Commission to top program applicants (40,000 EUR)
• Sem. 1 – Uppsala University, Sweden
• Sem. 2 – University of Montpellier, France
  • Research Project: Modelling the phenotypic optimum and maladaptation of bud break date plasticity of Oak and Beech with Dr. Isabelle Chuine of FORECAST team, CEFE
• Sem. 3 – Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
  • MSc Thesis 1: Invasive mtDNA-haplotypes of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii: response to environmental variation in polyp clones and potential for interspecific mating of medusae with Prof. Dr. Herwig Stibor and Dr. Sabine Gießler, Aquatic Ecology Department, LMU
• Sem. 4 – The Norwegian University of Science and Technology & The University Centre in Svalbard, Norway
  • MSc Thesis 2: An integrated population model methodology for incorporating the effect of inbreeding on fecundity in Svalbard reindeer with Dr. Brage Bremset Hansen, Dr. Henrik Jensen, and Dr. Aline Magdalena Lee of the Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, NTNU

09/2017-07/2020

BSc Hons. cum laude in Global Sustainability Science from Utrecht University, The Netherlands

• Including Utrecht University Geosciences Honours College and the Da Vinci Project Honours Program
• 4.0 GPA (top 1% of program)
• Major in Water, Climate, and Ecosystems with a minor in Biogeology
• Thesis: The socio-ecological link between biodiversity patterns and food security in Southwestern Ethiopia

 Previous Professional Positions

• 06/2023-Onging, Community Assistant, DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia. Tasks: Organization of community programming, on-site troubleshooting, leading events.
• 06/2022, Rapporteur, EU-PolarNet conference on recommendations towards an Integrated Polar Observing System, Online. Tasks: writing up session focusing on the integration of research, development, and collaboration in polar settings.
• 09/2019-07/2020, Student research assistant, Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Tasks: develop white paper on Cross Laminated Timber as a potentially more sustainable building resource.
• 09/2019-07/2020, Teaching Assistant for BSc course “Natural Processes”, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Tasks: teaching modelling tutorials and organizing course content.
• 09/2019-07/2020, Teaching Assistant for BSc course “Chemistry of System Earth”, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Tasks: teaching dry lab tutorials and organizing course content.
• 09/2018-07/2020, Student ambassador, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Tasks: engaging with prospective students and relevant education related visitors to the university.

Grants and Awards Received

• 2024, INTERACT Interaccess Grant, Project ArcEcoWeb, 20,584 EUR, Group Leader Helena Wirta (collaborative grant, written together by team).
• 2022, Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree scholarship, Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biology (MEME), 40,000 EUR, European Union.
• 2022, Bright Minds Fellowship, 20,000 EUR (declined to attend the MEME program), Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Science Community Engagement

• 2026 – Ongoing, International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) Terrestrial Working Group Fellow (10 IASC Fellows selected annually from an international pool of applicants)
• 2025 – Ongoing, Reviewer for Arctic Science, Neobiota, Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, and Biodiversity Data Journal.
• 2025 – Ongoing, Chair of APECS Denmark National Committee.
• 2025 – Ongoing, Founding member of AVEC - Arctic Vegetation Early Career Researchers Community.
• 2025 – Ongoing, Member of British Ecological Society Special Interest Group in Conservation Biology.
• 2025 – Ongoing, Natural History Museum of Denmark Faculty Board, PhD Representative.
• 2023 – Ongoing, EvoBio Crash Course (https://evobiocrashcourse.github.io/), course coordination and development of Mini-Grant Program.
• 2025, Contribution to the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Science Initiative workshop and White Paper.
• 2025, Contribution to the Polar Early Career World Summit and Synthesis Report.
• 2022 – Ongoing, Curation work relating to digital and physical plant specimens of Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, curated for Herbarium C.
• 2022-2024, General Board member of APECS Denmark National Committee.
• During BSc Degree 09/2017-07/2020: Honours Student Council member, Biodiversity Committee member, Geosciences Honours College Committee member, Student Ambassador for university, research intern at laboratory of palaeobotany and palynology, named in published academic book dedication, volunteer at the 2019 Future Food Symposium and 2020 Global Goals Symposium.

Teaching and Lecturing

• 10/2025, Teaching on “PhD Fundamentals” course, relating to organization and advice of PhD experience and independent research planning. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 08/2025, Invited University Lecture, Te Tari Huaota Department of Botany, at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka University of Otago, in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, “Arctic plants and pollinators” guest lecture during research visit abroad.
• 07/2025, Teaching on field course for BSc students, relating to invasive species ecology, Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula, Aotearoa New Zealand.
• 07/2025, Invited University Lecture, Te Tari Mātai Kararehe Department of Zoology, at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka University of Otago, in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, “From reindeer to reference libraries” guest lecture during research visit abroad.
• 07/2025, Invited University Lecture, Jason Tylianakis lab, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Canterbury in Otautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, “plant-pollinator network analysis” guest lecture during research visit abroad.
• 07/2025, Invited Presentation, Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence for complex systems, “Arctic plants and pollinators” guest presentation during Network Science Winter Wānanga, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
• 04/2024, Invited Highschool Presentation, Kingston Secondary School, Kingston, Canada, "A Decade after the International Baccalaureate Program". Repeated presentation in 2025.
• 2023 – Ongoing, EvoBio Crash Course (https://evobiocrashcourse.github.io/), relating to course coordination and development of affiliated Mini-Grant Program.
• 12/2022 – 11/2023, co-supervisor of MSc student (60 ECTs), thesis title: Creation of a DNA barcode reference library for the flowering plants and conifers of Greenland.

Conference Communication

• 10/2025, Conference Presentation - From South to North: Plant–Pollinator Networks Across 1100 km of Arctic Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, 39th meeting of the Scandinavian Association for Pollination Ecology, Priego de Córdoba, Spain
• 09/2025, Conference Presentation - Tundra in Bloom: Pollination Network Properties Across (Southwestern) Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland, EcoNet, Newcastle, United Kingdom
• 06/2025, Conference Presentation - Creating a Workflow to Harmonise Digitised Herbarium Data: A Case Study on Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland’s Flora Enhances our Understanding of Arctic Plant Diversity, International Congress of Conservation Biology, Brisbane/Meanjin, Australia.
• 03/2025, Conference Participation - APECS Denmark National Chair representative, Polar Early Career World Summit and ICARP IV Summit - “Arctic Research Planning for the Next Decade”, Arctic Science Summit Week, Boulder, United States of America.
• 10/2024, Conference Presentation - Plant-Pollinator Networks across an Arctic Latitudinal Gradient, 38th meeting of the Scandinavian Association for Pollination Ecology, Hardanger, Norway.
• 09/2024, Science communication and outreach, Natural History Museum of Denmark Botanical Garden 150th anniversary, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 06/2024, Academic Poster – Plant-pollinator Dynamics in a Changing Arctic Landscape, European Congress of Conservation Biology, Bologna, Italy.
• 04/2023, Academic Poster - Mapping plant-pollinator interactions across habitats in a changing Arctic, The biennial Danish OIKOS Meeting, Odense, Denmark.

Fieldwork Experience

• PhD Fieldwork: Qeqertarsuaq, Qasigiannguit, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq, Nuuk, Kobbefjord Research Station, Sisimiut, and Narsarsuaq, Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland (plant-pollinator interaction sampling).
• MSc fieldwork: Svalbard - Norway (Snow Bunting population monitoring), Bavaria - Germany (freshwater jellyfish sampling), and Puéchabon – France (Oak population monitoring).
• BSc fieldwork: Texel – Netherlands (plant surveying), Kempen-Broek – Belgium (ecohydro. restoration).

Publications

Vazquez-Ramirez, J., Tognela, M., de Vere, N., Gawlak, B., Kemppinen, J., Kępski, D., Kniha, D., Lang, S., Macek, P., Sujala, M.-S., Suominen, O., Tolvanen, A., Whitley, B., & Rosbakh, S. (2026). Fire as a regeneration filter: contrasting effects of heat and smoke on Arctic seed germination. California Digital Library (CDL). https://doi.org/10.32942/x26h2d. [Preprint].

Whitley, B. S., Abermann, J., Alsos, I. G., Biersma, E. M., Gårdman, V., Høye, T. T., Jones, L., Khelidj, N. M., Li, Z., Losapio, G., Pape, T., Raundrup, K., Schmitz, P., Silva, T., Wirta, H., Roslin, T., Ahlstrand, N. I., & De Vere, N.. (2025). Harmonising digitised herbarium data to enhance biodiversity knowledge: Major steps towards an updated checklist for the flora of Greenland. Plants, People, Planet. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70044

Silva, T., Whitley, B. S., Biersma, E. M., Abermann, J., Raundrup, K., De Vere, N., Høye, T. T., Haring, V., & Schöner, W.. (2025). Bio-climatic factors drive spectral vegetation changes in Greenland. Biogeosciences, 22(17), 4601–4626. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4601-2025

Donald Walker, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Amy Breen, Helga Bültmann, Maria Dance, Cassandra Elphinstone, Sarah Elmendorf, Howard Epstein, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gerald Frost, Millicent Harding, Ramona Heim, Robert Hollister, Stefanie Ickert-Bond, Shawnee Kasanke, Olga Khitun, William MacKenzie, Donald McClennan, Briana McNeal, Ladislav Mucina, Martha Raynolds, Jozef Šibík, Mária Šibíková, Craig Tweedie, Aaron Wells, Vitalii Zemlianskii, Jana Peirce, & Kadey Ambrose. (2025). The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Science Initiative (CAVSI) White Paper: A framework to help guide the next decade of arctic vegetation research (2025). Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A2T43J49W. [Listed Contributor]

Dryák-Vallies, M. C., Strand, S. M., Payne, M. R., & Schlindwein, A. (2025). Polar Early Career World Summit Synthesis Report. Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) International Directorate and Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16994869. [Listed Contributor]

Whitley, B.S., Li, Z., Jones, L., de Vere, N. (2024). Mega-Barcoding Projects: Delivering National DNA Barcoding Initiatives for Plants. In: DeSalle, R. (eds) DNA Barcoding. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2744. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3581-0_27