Louise Ashton

Biography

I am a tropical rainforest ecologist investigating biodiversity, how ecosystems function and how they are changing due to human activity. I’m particularly interested in insect diversity, and the roles insects play in ecological functioning.

My PhD, from Griffith University, investigated insect diversity across environmental gradients in the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Australia and China. I started the Biodiversity and Environmental Change Lab at the University of Hong Kong in 2018 where we use insects as ecological tools to understand our changing world. I have ongoing field-based projects across Thailand, Australia, Malaysia and China, to understand insect biodiversity and ecosystem process under climate change, pesticide use, drought and habitat loss, as well as the restoration of ecosystems to mitigate these impacts. I am passionate about combining research and teaching to help train the next generation of scientists needed to help address the threats to ecosystems.