Dr. Dongbo Li

Profile

The natural world is undergoing profound change. Habitat fragmentation, land-use change, and global warming are reshaping how species interact, persist, and function within ecosystems. My research aims to understand how ecological communities respond to these pressures, and how we can safeguard the ecological interactions, such as plant-pollinator and host–parasitoid, that underpin biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.

I am an experimental ecologist, currently a postdoctoral research fellow at University of Leeds. My work spans multiple biological systems, from soil Collembola and insect pollinators to moths–parasitoids. Across these systems, I use controlled experiments, ecological theory, and field studies to explore how populations and their ecological networks respond to environmental change. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms that allow species interactions to persist or collapse when habitats are fragmented or climates shift.

I completed my PhD at the University of Bristol, where I investigated wildlife corridors both as a theoretical concept and as a practical conservation tool, asking how landscape connectivity can support pollinator communities and ecosystem function. In my current role in the Sait Lab, my research focuses on how climate warming reshapes host–parasitoid interactions, with implications for population stability, ecosystem services, and natural biological control.

Ultimately, my goal is to contribute knowledge that helps build landscapes and management strategies capable of supporting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a rapidly changing world.

Professional memberships

• British Ecological Society 2019-
• Ecological Society of America 2025-