Biography
Education
- 2006 – 2010: University of Southampton, Ph.D. Environmental Science. Thesis: The feasibility of reintroducing the burbot, Lota lota, to England.
- 2003 – 2004: University of East Anglia, MSc Applied Ecology and Conservation (Distinction)
- 2000 – 2004: University of East Anglia, BSc Environmental Science
Employment
- 2017 – to date: Research Associate, Conservation Science Group, Dept. Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (UK)
- 2015 – 2016: Research Associate, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff (UK)
- 2011 – 2015: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Stillwater, Oklahoma (USA)
- 2010 – 2011: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton (UK)
- 2004 – 2006: Ecological Appraisal Officer, Environment Agency, Litchfield & Nottingham (UK)
Research
I am an aquatic ecologist undertaking research in both freshwater and marine environments. Projects are centred on conservation of aquatic organisms and environments at landscape and global scales.
I have recently completed an analysis of mangrove restoration potential https://oceanwealth.org/mangrove-restoration/ which locates and maps, on a global scale, the places where mangroves can be restored, and calculates the potential benefits from such restoration. The work provides a critical tool for encouraging restoration and enabling robust, data-driven policy changes and investments.
I am currently working on a project to map the distribution of global tidal marshes as a baseline to examine habitat loss, quantify ecosystem service value and determine restoration potential.
Publications
Worthington, T. & Spalding, M. (2018). Mangrove Restoration Potential: A global map highlighting a critical opportunity. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.39153
Worthington T., Echelle A.A., Perkin J.S., Mollenhauer R., Farless N., Dyer J.J., Longue, D. & Brewer S.K. (2017). The emblematic minnows of the North American Great Plains: A synthesis of threats and conservation opportunities. Fish and Fisheries, 19: 271:307.
Brewer S.K., McManamay R.A., Miller A.D., Mollenhauer R., Worthington T. & Arsuffi, T. (2016) Advancing environmental flow science: developing frameworks for altered landscapes and integrating efforts across disciplines. Environmental Management, 58:175-192.
Worthington T., Brewer S.K., Grabowski T.B. & Mueller J. (2014) Backcasting the decline of a vulnerable Great Plains reproductive ecotype: Identifying threats and conservation priorities. Global Change Biology, 20:89-102.
Kemp P.S., Worthington T. & Langford T.E.L. (2011) Quantifying the impact of reintroducing beaver on fish populations: a meta-analysis of the reviewed literature and survey of expert opinion. Fish and Fisheries, 13: 158-181.
Worthington T., Kemp P., Osborne P.E., Howes C. & Easton K. (2010) Former distribution and decline of the burbot (Lota lota) in the UK. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 20: 371–377.
Simmons B.I., Balmford A., Bladon A.J., Christie A.P., De Palma A., Dicks L.V., Gallego-Zamorano J., Johnston A., Martin P.A., Purvis A., Rocha R., Wauchope H.S., Wordley C.F.R, Worthington T. & Finch T. (2019) Worldwide insect declines: an important message, but interpret with caution. Ecology and Evolution, 9: 3678– 3680.
Worthington T., Brewer S.K., Vieux B.E. & Kennan J.G. (2019) The accuracy of ecological flow metrics derived using a physics-based distributed rainfall-runoff model in the Great Plains, USA. Ecohydrology, e2090.
Lunquist, S.P., Worthington T. & Aldridge, D.C. (2019) Freshwater mussels as a tool for reconstructing climate history. Ecological Indicators, 101: 11-21.
Brewer S.K., Worthington T., Mollenhauer R., Stewart D.R., McManamay R.A., Guertault L. & Moore D. (2018) Synthesizing models useful for ecohydrology and ecohydraulic approaches: An emphasis on integrating models to address complex research questions. Ecohydrology, 11: e1966
Musselman, W.C., Worthington T., Mouser, J., Williams, D. & Brewer S.K. (2017) Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags: A review of current studies on warmwater fishes with notes on additional species. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 8: 353-364.
Mueller J., Grabowski T.B., Brewer S.K., & Worthington T. (2017) Effects of temperature, dissolved solids, and suspended solids on the early life history stages of Arkansas River Shiner. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 8: 79-88.
Worthington T., Zhang T., Logue D.R., Mittelstet A.R. & Brewer S.K. (2016) Landscape and flow metrics affecting the distribution of a federally-threatened fish: Improving management, model fit, and model transferability. Ecological Modelling, 342: 1-18.
Bagwill A., Lovern M., Worthington T., Smith L. & McMurry S. (2016) Effects of water loss on New Mexico spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata) development, spleen cellularity, and corticosterone levels. Journal of Experimental Zoology, 325: 548-561.
Worthington T., Van Houdt J.K.J., Hull J.M. & Kemp P. (2016) Thermal refugia and the survival of species in changing environments: new evidence from a nationally extinct freshwater fish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish.
Vowles A., Don A., Karageorgopoulos P., Worthington T. & Kemp P. (2015) Efficiency of a novel fish pass designed to mitigate for impeded upstream passage of juvenile European eels (Anguilla anguilla) at a model Crump weir. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 22: 307–316.)
Worthington T., Shaw P.J., Daffern J.R. & Langford T.E.L. (2015) The effects of a thermal discharge of the benthic macroinvertebrate community of the River Severn: implications for climate change. Hydrobiologia, 753: 81-95.
Dyer J.J., Worthington T. & Brewer S.K. (2015) Response of narrow-range crayfish to hyporheic water availability and excess sedimentation. Hydrobiologia, 747: 147-157.
Worthington T., Brewer S.K., Farless N., Grabowski T.B. & Gregory M.S. (2014) Interacting effects of discharge and channel morphology on transport of semibuoyant fish eggs in large, altered river systems. PLoS One, 9(5):e96599-e96608.
Worthington T., Brewer S.K., & Farless N. (2013) Spatial and temporal variation in efficiency of the Moore Egg Collector. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 33: 1113-1118.)
Dyer J.J., Brewer S.K., Worthington T. & Bergey E.A. (2013) The influence of coarse-scale environmental features on current and future distributions of narrow-range endemic crayfish populations. Freshwater Biology, 58:1071-1088.
Worthington T., Brewer S.K., Grabowski T.B. & Mueller J. (2013) Sampling efficiency of the Moore egg collector. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 33: 79-88.
Worthington T., Kemp P., Osborne P.E., Dillen A., Coeck J., Bunzel-Drüke M., Naura M., Gregory J. & Easton K. (2012) A spatial analytical GIS and RHS approach to selecting reintroduction sites for the reestablishment of the burbot in English rivers. Freshwater Biology, 57: 602-611.
Langford T.E.L., Worthington T., Shaw P.J., Kemp P.S., Ferguson A.J.D., Harding P. & Ottewell P. (2012) The Unnatural History of the River Trent: 50 Years of Ecological Recovery. In P.J Boon & P.J. Raven (Eds.) River Conservation and Management (pp. 261-272). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Worthington T., Kemp P., Osborne P.E., Howes C. & Easton K. (2011) A review of the historical distribution and status of the burbot (Lota lota) in English rivers. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27 (Suppl. 1): 1–8. Worthington T., Kemp P., & Osborne P.E. (2011) Factors affecting the population viability of the burbot, Lota lota. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 18: 322–332.
Worthington T., Tisdale J., Kemp P., Williams I & Osborne P.E. (2010) Public and stakeholder attitudes to the reintroduction of the burbot, Lota lota. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 17: 465–472.
Worthington T., Vught I., De Charlroy D., Kemp P., Coeck J., Osborne P., Easton K. (2009) The re-introduction of the burbot to the United Kingdom and Flanders. In P.S. Soorae (Ed.), Global re-introduction perspectives: re-introduction case-studies from around the globe (pp. 26-29). Abu Dhabi: IUCN/SCC Re-introduction Specialist Group.
