Dr. Matthew Barnes

Research Interests

My research and teaching interests are rooted in community ecology, predicting and explaining species distributions and dispersal in aquatic systems. I am particularly interested in forecasting biological invasions, the movement of species beyond their historic native ranges, and conducting research that advances methodologies for the study and management of invasive species and the communities they impact. I enjoy utilizing a broad set of tools to address many different types of ecological questions, so my research experiences have included predicting species occurrence with species distribution models and geographic information systems (GIS), detecting rare species through environmental DNA (eDNA) surveillance, and investigating species impacts through field observations and laboratory experiments.

Courses Taught

1. NRM 2305 Introduction to Freshwater Ecology and Fisheries
2. NRM 3308 Quantitative Methods in Natural Resources Management
3. NRM 4320 Natural Resources Policy & NRM 5320 Natural Resource Biopolitics

Recent Publications

• DeVleeschower A, Deines AM, Goldberg J, Pasko SR, and Barnes MA. In Press. Developing a recipe for success: commentary on Seaman et al. (2021) "Eating invasives: chefs as an avenue to control through consumption." Food, Culture & Society. [LINK]
• Hays HC, Pease AA, Fleming P, and Barnes MA. In Press. Distribution and habitat use of a rare native crayfish: implications for conserving Data Deficient species. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 33: 751-760. [LINK]
• Johnson MD, Barnes MA, Garrett NR, and Clare EL. 2023. Answers blowing in the wind: detection of birds, mammals, and amphibians with airborne environmental DNA in a natural environment over a yearlong survey.Environmental DNA5: 375-387. [LINK]
• Nagarajan RP, Bedwell M, Holmes AE, Sanches T, Acuña S, Baerwald M, Barnes MA, Blankenship S, Connon RE, Deiner K, Gille D, Goldberg CS, Hunter ME, Jerde CL, Luikart G, Meyer RS, Watts A, and Shreier A. 2022. Environmental DNA methods for ecological monitoring and biodiversity assessment in estuaries. Estuaries and Coasts45: 2254-2273. [LINK]
• Banerjee P, Stewart K, Antognazza C, Bunholi I, Deiner K, Barnes MA, Saha S, Verdier H, Doi H, Maity JP, Chan W, and Chen CY. 2022. Plant-animal interactions in the era of environmental DNA (eDNA) - a review. Environmental DNA4: 987-999. [LINK]
• Johnson MD, Fokar M, Cox RD, and Barnes MA. 2021. Airborne environmental DNA metabarcoding detects more diversity, with less sampling effort, than a traditional plant community survey. BMC Ecology and Evolution21: 218. [LINK]
• Barnes MA, Klymus K, and Yamanaka H. 2021. Editorial: Environmental DNA innovations for conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution9: 785077. [LINK]