Anne Cotton

Research

My research focuses on microbial communities and the factors that influence their diversity, structure and function. I did my PhD studying the effects of atmospheric change on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at the University of York.

After this I’ve been a postdoc at the universities of Hull, Essex and Sheffield studying a wide range of aspects of microbial ecology. This has included projects examining whether alterations in soil fungal communities could be responsible for biodiversity-productivity relationships in grasslands and looking at the interactions between plant root chemistry and root associated fungal and bacterial communities.

I worked in the Edwards Lab as part of the PARAMO project (Provisioning of ecosystem services and cultural values in the montane tropics). I examined how habitat modifications in the Colombian Andes affected communities of soil microbes and worms and core below-ground ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and resilience to disturbance.

About me

Outside of work I enjoy climbing, growing unusual fruit and vegetables, sewing, knitting and telling anyone who’s willing to listen about plants and microbes!