I am an early-career quantitative and applied global change ecologist. My current research focuses on mapping global connectivity and advancing its applications for conservation and ecosystem restoration. But on the sidelines, I collaborate on research involving global biological invasions and biosecurity, as well as the conservation biogeography of amphibians and reptiles. I am broadly interested in topics about macroecology, biogeography, ecogeography, and global change ecology.
Biography
I am an early-career quantitative and applied global change ecologist committed to bridging science, practice, and policy. I am fixated on developing scientifically defensible, statistically robust, accessible, and actionable decision-support tools for biodiversity conservation.
I was born and raised in the heart of Metro Manila, the Philippines, where I earned my Bachelor's (with high honours) and Master's (with honours) degrees in Environmental Biology. Following my Master's, I founded and led a local non-profit research organisation, Herpwatch Pilipinas, Inc., dedicated to Philippine amphibian and reptile conservation science.
I completed my PhD in Biological Sciences at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, in January 2024. My doctoral research focused on forecasting future biological invasions to support biosecurity decision-making. This work combined species distribution modelling, trait-based risk assessment, individual-based simulations, time-series forecasting, among other tools, to develop novel decision-support tools. I also part-timed as a Teaching Assistant and Science Educator where I taught school students and undergraduate students throughout Australia concepts on ecology and biodiversity conservation.
Before joining Cambridge, I held a postdoctoral position at the University of Potsdam in Germany, where I developed new analytical approaches for correcting sampling bias affecting widely available biodiversity data, and for forecasting patterns of global biotic homogenisation.
I am currently based at the University of Cambridge, where my research focuses on mapping global connectivity and advancing its applications for conservation and ecosystem restoration. Here, I am optimising and applying the Spatial Absorption Markov Chain framework for connectivity modelling. This work aims to help world nations monitor and report their achievements in meeting their international commitments to biodiversity conservation, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the like.
Alongside my academic work, I serve as a Junior Research Associate at the Journal of Applied Ecology, a Research Affiliate at Monash University, a Biodiversity Regional Expert for the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, a Biodiversity Informatics Trainer and Scientific Expert with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and an Explorer with the National Geographic Society. I am an active member of the global collaborative projects such as InvaCost and InvaPact, where we quantify and predict the impacts of biological invasions worldwide.
Beyond the lab, you’ll often find me rolling dice at the local tabletop games pub, on a food crawl through Chinatown, or dancing the night away at a Latin social.
Research
I distinguish myself through a drive to produce disruptive, interdisciplinary science with lasting impact—particularly for underrepresented regions such as the Global South. My current research focuses on developing and applying new analytical frameworks to map global ecological connectivity and explore its applications in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration. More broadly, my interests span conservation biogeography, macroecology, global change ecology, and biodiversity informatics.
I am especially energized by the challenge of addressing methodological gaps through the creative, lateral application of "withered" or "matured" technologies from other scientific domains, like data science, business econometrics, public health, and social sciences. My skillset spans the full biodiversity informatics pipeline: from data collection, digitisation, and management to data publishing, analysis, modelling, and implementation.
I work fluently with specialised tools such as species distribution modelling, occupancy modelling, global biodiversity modelling, individual-based population dynamics modelling (HexSim, RangeShiftR, MadingleyR), trait-based modelling, and ecological network analysis. I am also well-versed in general statistical and computational approaches, including machine learning (supervised and unsupervised), missing data imputation (MICE), time-series forecasting, spatial statistics, network modelling, web scraping, and text analysis. Currently, I am deepening my expertise in connectivity modelling, with a focus on the Spatial Absorbing Markov Chain (SAMC) framework.
Publications
- Pili, A., Leroy, B., & Zurell, D. (2025). Correcting environmental sampling bias improves transferability of species distribution models. Ecography, e08002.
- Pili, A.N., Leroy, B., Measey, J. G., Farquhar, J. E., Toomes, A., Chekunov, S., Grenié, M., van Winkel, D., Maria, L., Diesmos, M.L.L., Diesmos, A. C., Zurell, D., Courchamp, F., & Chapple, D. G. (2024). Forecasting potential invaders to prevent future biological invasions worldwide. Global Change Biology, 30 (7), e17399 https://doi.org/10.1111/GCB.17399.
- Pili, A.N., Schumaker, N., Camacho-Cervantes, M., Tingley, R. & Chapple, D. G. (2024). Landscape spatial heterogeneity and dynamic environmental conditions are essential predictors of small founding populations’ establishment success. Evolutionary Applications Evolutionary Applications 17(10): e70027. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70027.
- Pili, A. N., Tingley, R., van Winkel, D., Maria, L., & Chapple, D. G. (2023). The escalating global problem of accidental human-mediated transport of alien species: A case study using alien herpetofauna interceptions in New Zealand. Biological Conservation, 278: 109860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109860
- Pili, A. N., Tingley, R., Chapple, D. G., & Schumaker, N. H. (2022). virToad: simulating the spatiotemporal population dynamics and management of a global invader. Landscape Ecology, 37(9), 2273-2292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01468-y.
- Pili, A. N., Tingley, R., Sy, E. Y., Diesmos, M. L. L., & Diesmos, A. C. (2020). Niche shifts and environmental non-equilibrium undermine the usefulness of ecological niche models for invasion risk assessments. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64568-2
- Pili, A. N., Sy, E. Y., Diesmos, M. L. L., & Diesmos, A. C. (2019). Island Hopping in a Biodiversity Hotspot Archipelago: Reconstructed Invasion History and Updated Status and Distribution of Alien Frogs in the Philippines. Pacific Science, 73(3), 321-343. https://doi.org/10.2984/73.3.2
Notable Collaborative Publications
- Soto, I., Courtois, P., Pili, A., Tordoni, E., Manfrini, E., Angulo, E., ... & Leung, B. (2025). Using species ranges and macroeconomic data to fill the gap in costs of biological invasions. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9(6), 1021-1030.
- Henriksen, M., Arle, E., Pili, A. N., Clark, D., Garcia-Berthou, E., Groom, Q., Bernd, L., Carsten, M., Seebens, H., Tingley, R. , Marten, W., McGeoch, M. (2024). Global indicators of the environmental impact of invasive alien species and their information status. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 379: 20230323. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0323
Publications by Honours and Graduate student colleagues and mentees
- Scott, N., Mulder, J., Pili, A. N., Oliver, P. M., Hines, H. B., Farquhar, J. E., Chapple, D. G. (2024). A targeted study to determine the conservation status of a Data Deficient montane lizard, the Eungella shadeskink (Saproscincus eungellensis). Pacific Conservation Biology,30, PC24050 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24050.
- Bonifacio, L. R., Farquhar, J. E., Pili, A. N., Walsh, J. C., & Chapple, D. G. (2024). A noodle in a haystack: determining the conservation status of the rare and Data Deficient Ravensthorpe Range slider, Lerista viduata. Pacific Conservation Science., 30, PC24048 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24048.
- Wotherspoon, L., Caetano, G. H. D. O. Roll, U., Meiri, S., Pili, A. N., Tingley, R., & Chapple, D. (2024). Inferring the extinction risk of Data Deficient and Not Evaluated Australian Squamates. Austral Ecology, 49:e13485. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13485.
- Farquhar, J., Carlesso, A., Pili, A. N., Gale, N., Chapple, D. G. (2023). Capturing uncatalogued distribution records to improve conservation assessments of Data Deficient species: a case study using the glossy grass skink. Animal Conservation, 27: 124–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12892.
- Farquhar, J. E., Pili, A. N., & Russell, W. (2023). Using crowdsourced photographic records to explore geographical variation in colour polymorphism of an Australian varanid. Journal of Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14500.
Teaching and Supervisions
My current role as a postdoctoral research associate does not require me to teach.
In my previous roles as a PhD in Monash University (Australia) and Postdoc at University of Potsdam (Germany), I have given lectures on topics such as Ecological Statistics, Macroecology and Global Change...
During my Master’s studies in the Philippines and PhD at Monash University in Australia, I mentored several Honours and graduate students on projects related to the ecology and conservation biogeography of Philippine and Australian reptiles. Five of my mentees successfully published their research in peer-reviewed scientific journals, which reflects my commitment to fostering meaningful, publishable research experiences for early-career scientists.
I am currently the primary supervisor of Mr. Lasse Rauert, a Master’s student in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation at the University of Potsdam. Lasse’s thesis combines macroecological modelling with field experimentation to predict the biological invasion and the ecological impacts of the lionfish (Pterois spp.) in the Mediterranean Sea.
I am open to supervising or co-supervising Honours and Master’s students interested in a range of topics at the intersection of biodiversity science, data, and conservation, particularly in the following areas:
Quantitative and Applied Ecology
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Simulating animal movement to guide conservation planning
How can movement models inform efforts to halt the westward spread of lionfish in the Mediterranean? Or the cane toad invasion in the Pilbara region of Western Australia? -
Modelling population dynamics for extinction risk assessment
Will the critically endangered Ravensthorpe Range slider survive the combined threats of increasing forest fires and climate change? -
Forecasting global biological invasions for proactive biosecurity
Which alien species pose the greatest invasion risks to the United Kingdom? Which regions are most vulnerable?
Theoretical Ecology
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Evolution and function of colouration in amphibians and reptiles
Is colouration linked to species’ morphology, diet, or ecological habits? How does it relate to their geographic distributions? -
Macroecology and global biodiversity patterns
Do amphibians and reptiles follow global gradients such as the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient?
Biodiversity Data Science
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The impact of missing data in biodiversity research
How do data gaps in traits and distributions affect our understanding of species' macroecology and conservation needs?
