Biography

Conor is an ecologist with a wide research interest including fish behaviour and ecology, eutrophication, bird biology, climate change, stable isotope analyses, forest ecology and management.  Conor graduated with a BSc in Marine Science in 2001 and with a Research Master in Zoology in 2004, both from National University of Ireland, Galway.  After completing a contract working on the implications of climate change for fishes of the British Isles at the Max Planck Institute for Limnology in Ploen, Germany, he undertook a PhD on the impacts of nutrient enrichment on the ecology of salmonids in Irish rivers.

Upon completion of his PhD in 2010, he joined the HYDROFOR project at UCC which is investigating the effects of conifer forestry on the ecological quality of freshwaters where his research focused on salmonids and food web dynamics.  In March 2012 he joined the PLANFORBIO research team at UCC where he is currently working on forest biodiversity and in particular, on bird communities.

Publications:

Graham, C.T., Wilson, M.W., Gittings, T., Kelly, T.C., Irwin, S., Sweeney, O. & O'Halloran, J. In press. Factors affecting the bird diversity of planted and semi-natural oak forests in Ireland. Bird Study, X:X-X

Graham, C.T., Irwin, S., Wilson, M.W., Kelly, T.C., Gittings, T. & O'Halloran, J. 2013. Tracking the impacts of afforestation on bird communities. Irish Forestry. Vol. 70. 172-183.

Graham, C.T., Harrison, S.S.C., Harrod, C. (2013). Development of non-lethal sampling of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in salmonids: effects of lipid and inorganic components of fins. Isotopes in Environmental & Health Studies.

Graham, C.T., Harrod, C. & Harrison, S.S.C. (2013). Differences in the contributions of dietary water to the hydrogen stable isotope ratios of Atlantic salmon and Arctic charr tissues. Hydrobiologia.

Graham, C.T. Drinan, T.J., Harrison, S.S.C. & O’Halloran, J. (2013) Relationship between plantation forest and brown trout growth, energetics and community structure in peatland lakes in the west of Ireland. Forest Ecology & Management.

Coote, L., Dietzsch, A., Wilson, M.W., Graham, C.T., Fuller, L., Walsh, A., Irwin, S., Kelly, D. L., Mitchell, F.J.G., Kelly, T.C. & O’Halloran, J. (2013).Testing indicators of biodiversityfor plantation forests Ecological Indicators. Vol. 32. 107-115.

Drinan, T.J., Graham, C.T., O’Halloran, J. & Harrison, S.S.C. (2013). The impact of catchment conifer plantation forestry on the hydrochemistry of peatland lakes. Science of the Total Environment.Vol. 43. 608-620.

Drinan, T.J., Graham, C.T., O’Halloran, J. & Harrison, S.S.C. (2013). The impact of conifer plantation forestry on the Chydoridae (Cladocera) communities of peatland lakes Hydrobiologia.

Graham, C.T., Wilson, M.W., Irwin, S., Gittings, T., Kelly, T.C. & O’Halloran, J. (2012.) Bird communities along forest roads: preliminary findings of a long term study. Irish Birds. Vol. 9. 367:374. 

O'Farrell, B., Benzie, J., Carlsson, J., McGinnity, P., de Eyto, E., Dillane, E., Graham, C.T., Coughlin, J. & Cross, T. (2011). MHC-mediated spatial distribution in brown trout (Salmo trutta) fry. Heredity. Vol. 108. 403-409

Grey, J., Graham, C.T., Britton, J.R. & Harrod, C. (2009). Stable isotope analysis of archived roach (Rutilis rutilis) scales for retrospective study of shallow lake responses to nutrient reduction.  Freshwater Biology. 54 1663-1670.

Graham, C.T. & Harrod, C. (2009). “Implications of climate change for the fishes of the British Isles”. Journal of Fish Biology. 74, 1143-1205.

Harrod, C., Tosh, D., Robb, G. & Graham, C.T. 2008. “Characterising the trophic ecology and habitat use of vendace (Coregonus albula) using stable isotope analysis”. A report prepared for Scottish National Heritage.

FSBI (2007). “Climate change and the fishes of Britain and Ireland”.  Fisheries Society of the British Isles, Briefing Paper 4. 42 pages.  Prepared by Chris Harrod (Queens University Belfast), Conor Graham (University College Cork) & Jennie Mallela (University West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago). 

McCarthy, T.K., Graham, C., Callaghan, M., McCarthy, E. & Cullen, P. 2002. A survey of the pollan Coregonus autumnalis of Loughs Ree and Derg. A report prepared for the Heritage Council.