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Staff Profile

Dr Jordan Cuff

NUAcT Fellow

Background

I am an ecological entomologist investigating the mechanisms driving trophic interactions using molecular techniques and nutritional analysis. I lead the Foraging Ecology Research Group which investigates trophic interactions, the behaviour and ecology that prelude them, and the biotic and abiotic constraints that determine them. I am particularly interested in improving our understanding of the mechanisms underlying trophic interactions using interdisciplinary approaches. 


For more information, please visit my Twitter, ResearchGate Publons or LinkedIn.

 

Brief CV

  • 2023-2028 (current): Newcastle University Academic Track Fellow, "Increasing efficacy of nature-based solutions for sustainable agriculture by unravelling the molecular mechanisms of prey choice".
  • 2021-2023: Newcastle University, Postdoctoral Research Associate, "Stacking of ecosystem services: mechanisms and interactions for optimal crop protection, pollination enhancement, and productivity (EcoStack)" with Prof Darren Evans, funded by EU H2020.
  • 2021: Cardiff University, Postdoctoral Research Associate, "Metagenomic and metaviromic monitoring of SARS-CoV2 in wastewater" with Prof Peter Kille and Prof Andrew Weightman, funded by Ser Cymru.
  • 2020-2021: Cardiff University, Postdoctoral Research Associate, "Defining a standard operating procedure for portable molecular ecological analyses using nanopore sequencing" with Prof Peter Kille, funded by Global Challenges Research Fund.
  • 2016-2020: Cardiff University, PhD, "Nutrient-specific foraging and the role of spiders as biocontrol agents" with Prof William Symondson, Dr Carsten Muller, Dr Ian Vaughan, Dr James Bell and Dr Pablo Orozco-terWengel, funded by BBSRC SWBio DTP.
  • 2017-2018: National Museum Wales, Biodiversity Collections Assistant, with Dr Ben Rowson.
  • 2015-2016: Cardiff University, MRes Biosciences, "Invertebrate communities of wood decay in beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunks" with Dr Hefin Jones and Prof Lynne Boddy.
  • 2011-2014: Cardiff University, BSc Biology.

 

External Activities

  • Editor-in-Chief, Agricultural and Forest Entomology (2024-present)
  • UKEOF DNA Working Group Steering Committee (2024-present)
  • BBSRC People and Talent Strategy Advisory Panel Researcher Subgroup member (2022-present)
  • Royal Entomological Society Open Science Working Group (2024-present)
  • Royal Entomological Society Publications Committee (2023-present)
  • Royal Entomological Society Sustainable Agriculture Special Interest Group convenor (2023-2024)
  • Subject Editor, Bulletin of Entomological Research (2022-2024)
  • Invertebrate Biodiversity Advisor, Frozen Ark (2019-present)
  • Associate Editor, Agricultural and Forest Entomology (2023-2024)
  • Editorial Board, Agricultural and Forest Entomology (2021-2023)
  • British Arachnological Society Online Surveys Coordinator (2020)
  • Cardiff Science Café/Innovation in Isolation Coordinator (2016-2020)


Internal Activities

  • Developing Excellent Researchers Committee Co-chair (2023-present)
  • Newcastle University Open Research Champion (2024-present)
  • Newcastle University Cross-Faculty Researcher Network Networking Lead (2024-present)
  • Researchers Empowering Newcastle University conference organiser (2022-2024)
  • Newcastle University Cross-Faculty Researcher Network Co-founder and Lead (2022-2024)
  • SNESFest (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences annual symposium) Planning Committee (2022-2023)
  • School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Research Associate Committee Chair (2022-2023)

 

Society Memberships

  • Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society
  • British Arachnological Society
  • British Ecological Society
  • Genetics Society
  • Verrall Association of Entomologists


Research

Research themes

Foraging ecology is the study of how organisms search for, obtain, and use food resources in their natural environment. This encompasses trophic interactions, but also the factors that drive these interactions, and their consequences. By investigating these interactions, we can understand how organisms optimise their food intake and energy expenditure. These processes underpin the healthy functioning of every ecosystem, including our food systems. How systems respond to change affects our ability to feed the growing global population. Understanding these fundamental drivers of ecology enhances our understanding and appreciation of the complexity of life.


My research uses cutting-edge molecular methods and an interdisciplinary range of approaches to investigate the mechanisms driving interactions between organisms, particularly predator-prey interactions. I lead the Foraging Ecology Research Group which studies trophic interactions and wider ecological phenomena in natural and semi-natural systems.

 

Key research

Cuff, J.P., Tercel, M.P.T.G., Vaughan, I.P., Drake, L.E., Wilder, S.M., Bell, J.R., Müller, C.T., Orozco-terWengel, P. & Symondson, W.O.C. (2023). Prey nutrient content is associated with the trophic interactions of spiders and their prey selection under field conditions. Oikos, early view.

Cuff, J.P., Evans, D.M., Vaughan, I.P., Wilder, S.M., Tercel, M.P.T.G. & Windsor, F.M. (2024). Networking nutrients: how nutrition determines the structure of ecological networks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 93 (8), 974-988.

Cuff, J.P., Kitson, J.J.N., Hemprich-Bennett, D., Tercel, M.P.T.G., Browett, S.S., Evans, D.M. (2023). The predator problem and PCR primers in molecular dietary analysis: swamped or silenced; depth or breadth? Molecular Ecology Resources. 23(1): 41-51.

Cuff, J.P., Windsor, F.M., Tercel, M.P.T.G., Kitson, J.J.N. & Evans, D.M. (2022) Overcoming the pitfalls of merging dietary metabarcoding into ecological networks. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 13(3): 545-559.

Cuff, J.P., Wilder, S.M., Tercel, M.P.T.G., Hunt, R., Oluwaseun, S., Morley, P.S., Badell-Grau, R.A., Vaughan, I.P., Bell, J.R., Orozco-terWengel, P., Symondson, W.O.C. & Müller, C.T. (2021) MEDI: Macronutrient Extraction and Determination from invertebrates, a rapid, cheap and streamlined protocol. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 12(4): 593-601.

 

Upcoming preprinted research

Cuff, Kitson, Windsor, Sint, Hawthorne, Traugott, Anderson, Neidel, Gatehouse, Thwaites, Edwards & Evans (2024). Dietary RNA: diagnostic and functional RNA offer a potential paradigm shift for molecular dietary analyses. OSF Preprints.

Attar, B., Kitson, J.J.N., Cuff, J.P., Howard, B., Lages, A., Gomez, D. & Boonham, N. (2024). Identifying the Fusarium species involved in foot rot disease of faba beans in the UK using a combined molecular and microbiological approach. bioRxiv.

Coomes, J., Cuff, J.P., Reichert, M., Davidson, G.L., Symondson, W.O.C. & Quinn, J. (2024). Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the great tit Parus major, revealed by DNA metabarcoding. Authorea.


Foraging Ecology Research Group members

Lucy Mallard (Postdoc) 'Autonomous collection and analysis of airborne spores to protect fruit crops' (Innovate UK-funded, 2024-2026).

Rosy Christopher (PhD) 'Investigating predator-plant interactions as indirect drivers of ecosystem services' (2024 - present).

Mia Croft (PhD) 'The impact of artificial light at night on optimal foraging, trophic networks and ecosystem services' (2024 - present).

Will Dawson (PhD) 'Building belowground invertebrate trophic networks for soil health monitoring using metagenomics and ecoacoustics' (2024 - present).

Broghan Erland (PhD) 'The biodiversity and carbon benefits of wood pasture vs agro-forestry' (2024 - present).

Ben Hawthorne (PhD) 'Applying eDNA/metabarcoding for the biomonitoring and assessment of Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs)' (2022 - present). Primary supervisor: Professor Darren Evans.

Basem Attar (PhD) 'Abundance, diversity and phylogenetic study of the faba bean foot and root rot disease complex in the UK' (2022 - present). Primary supervisor: Dr Hannah Davis.

Ainsley Hatt (PhD) 'The impact of ocean warming on the biofouling of artificial structures' (2024-present). Primary supervisor: Dr Heather Sugden.

Jack Longsden (PhD) 'The effects of climate warming and heatwaves on in situ benthic marine community development' (2024-present). Primary supervisor: Dr Heather Sugden.

Yiran Zhang (PhD) 'Building future community with Postbugs: a multicentric community building' (2024-present). Primary supervisor: Dr Giles Bailey.

Eva Benkhoff (PhD) 'Impacts of drought on the community structure of ants and spiders in subtropical leaf litter and their food-web interactions' (2025-present). Primary supervisor: Petr Klimeš, Czech Academy of Sciences


Foraging Ecology Research Group alumni

Maggie White (PhD, completed 2024) 'Harnessing microbially mediated redox processes for sustainable water treatment'. Primary supervisor: Dr Elizabeth Heidrich.

Teaching

Teaching themes

My teaching contributions focus on foraging ecology, entomology, molecular ecology and field ecology.


Modules I currently contribute to:

  • Field-based Ecology: designing experiments, and residential field course (NES2312)
  • Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation (NES2305)
  • Current Research in Ecology (NES3302)
Publications