Dr Christopher David Barratt

Postdoc

Evolution and Adaptation
sDiv – Synthesis Centre

Scientific Profile

I am a conservation biologist interested in elaborating spatial patterns of biodiversity and unravelling the ecological and evolutionary processes that contribute to them. Ultimately my work seeks to understand how we can better conserve biodiversity using a combination of diverse types of data (molecular, environmental, traits) and minimise future biodiversity loss due to global change. My areas of expertise are in population genomics and spatial data analysis.

I gained my PhD in 2017 under the supervision of Simon Loader (NHM London) based in the Biogeography department and Centre for African Studies Basel at the University of Basel, Switzerland, funded by the Humer Foundation for Academic Talent. During my PhD I studied the amphibians of the coastal forests of Eastern Africa, integrating fieldwork, high-throughput sequencing data andenvironmental data to categorise biodiversity patterns and highlight diversity hotspots (species richness, phylogenetic diversity and endemism), and elaborate on the mechanisms driving these patterns (historical demographic modelling.

After my PhD I worked as a Flexpool postdoc at iDiv studying the diversification mechanisms and conservation of chimpanzees with Dr. Hjalmar Kühl and the PanAf project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. As of April 2021 I will begin my own sDiv individual grant focusing on using bioinformatics and ecoinformatics for population level conservation against global change, working with collaborators in Europe and the US.

For more information, visit my personal website: https://cd-barratt.github.io/

Scientific Career

Apr 2021–
sDiv Postdoc (individual grant) at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv): Life on the edge: a new bioinformatic toolbox to conserve wildlife populations under threat from global change, (co-PIs: Dr. O. Razgour, Dr. R.E. Onstein, Prof. M. Pinsky, Dr. H. Kühl, Prof. S. Steinfartz).
Aug 2018–March 2021
Flexpool Postdoc at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig: Dynamic aspects of chimpanzee diversification across Africa using paleoclimate and genomic data, (co-PI: Dr. H.Kühl).
Sep 2013–Apr 2017
PhD (Summa cum laude): Biodiversity patterns and conservation of the coastal forests of Eastern Africa. University of Basel, Switzerland. Advisor: Dr. S. Loader, External examiner: Prof. N. Burgess (WWF, UNEP-WCMC)
Jul 2010–Jul 2012
MSc by research: Developing microsatellite markers for East African caecilian amphibians. University of Salford, UK. Advisor: Dr. Robert Jehle, University of Salford, UK, External examiner: Dr. Angelo Pernatta (University of Brighton)
Aug 2008–May 2009
Research Officer, Frontier Tanzania Savannah Research Project (Kilombero Valley, Tanzania)
Sep 2003–Jun 2007
BSc Wildlife and Practical Conservation, University of Salford, Manchester, UK

Selected Publications

Kalan, A.K., Kulik, L., Arandjelovic, M., Boesch, C., Haas, F., Diguez, P., Barratt, C.D., Kühl, H.S. et al. (2020): Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity. Nature Communications 11, 4451, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

Portik, D.M., Bell, R.C., Blackburn, D.C., Bauer, A.M., Barratt,C.D., Branch W.R., et al. (2019): Sexual dichromatism drives diversification within a major radiation of African amphibians. Systematic Biology 68, 859-875, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syz023

Barratt, C. D., Bwong, B. A., Jehle, R., Liedtke, H. C., Nagel, P., Onstein, R. E., Portik, D. M., Streicher, J. W., Loader, S. P. (2018): Vanishing refuge? Testing the forest refuge hypothesis in coastal East Africa using genome-wide sequence data for seven amphibians. Molecular Ecology 27(21), 4289-308, DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14862

iDiv publications

Manurung, J., Rojas Andrés, B. M., Barratt, C. D., Schnitzler, J., Jönsson, B. F., Susanti, R., Durka, W., Muellner-Riehl, A. N.

(2022): Deep phylogeographic splits and limited mixing by sea surface currents govern genetic population structure in the mangrove genus Lumnitzera (Combretaceae) across the Indonesian Archipelago. Journal of Systematics and Evolution

DOI

A. Perino, H. M. Pereira, M. Felipe-Lucia, H. Kim, H. S. Kühl, M. R. Marselle, J. N. Meya, C. Meyer, L. M. Navarro, R. van Klink, G. Albert, C. D. Barratt, H. Bruelheide, Y. Cao, A. Chamoin, M. Darbi, M. Dornelas, N. Eisenhauer, F. Essl, N. Farwig, J. Förster, J. Freyhof, J. Geschke, F. Gottschall, C. Guerra, P. Haase, T. Hickler, U. Jacob, T. Kastner, L. Korell, I. Kühn, G. U. C. Lehmann, B. Lenzner, A. Marques, E. Motivans Švara, L. C. Quintero, A. Pacheco, A. Popp, J. Rouet-Leduc, F. Schnabel, J. Siebert, I. R. Staude, S. Trogisch, V. Švara, J.-C. Svenning, G. Pe'er, K. Raab, D. Rakosy, M. Vandewalle, A. S. Werner, C. Wirth, H. Xu, D. Yu, Y. Zinngrebe and A. Bonn

(2021): Biodiversity post-2020: Closing the gap between global targets and national-level implementation. Conservation Letters

DOI

Zizka, A., Barratt, C. D., Ritter, C. D., Joerger-Hickfang, T., Zizka, V. M. A.

(2021): Existing approaches and future directions to link macroecology, macroevolution and conservation prioritization. Ecography

DOI

Barratt, C. D., Lester, J. D., Gratton, P., Onstein, R. E., Kalan, A. K., McCarthy, M. S., Bocksberger, G., White, L. C., Vigilant, L., Dieguez, P., Abdulai, B., Aebischer, T., Agbor, A., Assumang, A. K., Bailey, E., Bessone, M., Buys, B., Carvalho, J. S., Chancellor, R., Cohen, H., Danquah, E., Deschner, T., Dongmo, Z. N., Doumbé, O. A., Dupain, J., Duvall, C. S., Eno-Nku, M., Etoga, G., Galat-Luong, A., Garriga, R., Gatti, S., Ghiurghi, A., Goedmakers, A., Granjon, A.-C., Hakizimana, D., Head, J., Hedwig, D., Herbinger, I., Hermans, V., Jones, S., Junker, J., Kadam, P., Kambi, M., Kienast, I., Kouakou, C. Y., N′Goran, K. P., Langergraber, K. E., Lapuente, J., Laudisoit, A., Lee, K. C., Maisels, F., Mirghani, N., Moore, D., Morgan, B., Morgan, D., Neil, E., Nicholl, S., Nkembi, L., Ntongho, A., Orbell, C., Ormsby, L. J., Pacheco, L., Piel, A. K., Pintea, L., Plumptre, A. J., Rundus, A., Sanz, C., Sommer, V., Sop, T., Stewart, F. A., Sunderland-Groves, J., Tagg, N., Todd, A., Ton, E., van Schijndel, J., VanLeeuwe, H., Vendras, E., Welsh, A., Wenceslau, J. F. C., Wessling, E. G., Willie, J., Wittig, R. M., Yoshihiro, N., Yuh, Y. G., Yurkiw, K., Boesch, C., Arandjelovic, M. and Kühl, H.

(2021): Quantitative estimates of glacial refugia for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) since the Last Interglacial (120,000 BP). American Journal of Primatology

DOI

J. D. Lester, L. Vigilant, P. Gratton, M. S. McCarthy, C. D. Barratt, P. Dieguez, A. Agbor, P. Álvarez-Varona, S. Angedakin, E. A. Ayimisin, E. Bailey, M. Bessone, G. Brazzola, R. Chancellor, H. Cohen, E. Danquah, T. Deschner, V. E. Egbe, M. Eno-Nku, A. Goedmakers, A.-C. Granjon, J. Head, D. Hedwig, R. A. Hernandez-Aguilar, K. J. Jeffery, S. Jones, J. Junker, P. Kadam, M. Kaiser, A. K. Kalan, L. Kehoe, I. Kienast, K. E. Langergraber, J. Lapuente, A. Laudisoit, K. Lee, S. Marrocoli, V. Mihindou, D. Morgan, G. Muhanguzi, E. Neil, S. Nicholl, C. Orbell, L. J. Ormsby, L. Pacheco, A. Piel, M. M. Robbins, A. Rundus, C. Sanz, L. Sciaky, A. M. Siaka, V. Städele, F. Stewart, N. Tagg, E. Ton, J. van Schijndel, M. K. Vyalengerera, E. G. Wessling, J. Willie, R. M. Wittig, Y. G. Yuh, K. Yurkiw, K. Zuberbuehler, C. Boesch, H. S. Kühl, M. Arandjelovi

(2021): Recent genetic connectivity and clinal variation in chimpanzees. Communications Biology

DOI

J. M. Ngwava, C. D. Barratt, E. Boakes, B. A. Bwong, A. Channing, O. Couchman, S. Lötters, P. K. Malonza, V. Muchai, J. K. Nguku, J. Nyamache, N. Owen, V. Wasonga, S. P. Loader

(2021): Species-specific or assemblage-wide decline? The case of Arthroleptides dutoiti Loveridge, 1935 and the amphibian assemblage of Mount Elgon, Kenya. African Journal of Herpetology

DOI

R. E. Onstein, D. N. Vink, J. Veen, C. D. Barratt, S. G. A. Flantua, S. A. Wich, W. D. Kissling

(2021): Understanding the relationship between fruit colour and primate vision requires multiple lines of evidence. A reply to Heymann & Fuzessy. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

DOI

Bwong, B. A., Barratt, C. D., Loader, S. P., Nyamache, J. O., Menegon, M., Malonza, P. K., Nagel, P., Lawson, L. P.

(2020): Systematics of Hyperolius mitchelli Loveridge, 1953 and Hyperolius rubrovermiculatus Schiøtz, 1975 (Anura: Hyperoliidae) and assignment of populations from northern Tanzania. African Journal of Herpetology

DOI

Kalan, A. K., L. Kulik, M. Arandjelovic, C. Boesch, F. Haas, P. Dieguez, C. D. Barratt, E. E. Abwe, A. Agbor, S. Angedakin, F. Aubert, E. A. Ayimisin, E. Bailey, M. Bessone, G. Brazzola, V. E. Buh, R. Chancellor, H. Cohen, C. Coupland, B. Curran, E. Danquah, T. Deschner, D. Dowd, M. Eno-Nku, J. Michael Fay, A. Goedmakers, A.-C. Granjon, J. Head, D. Hedwig, V. Hermans, K. J. Jeffery, S. Jones, J. Junker, P. Kadam, M. Kambi, I. Kienast, D. Kujirakwinja, K. E. Langergraber, J. Lapuente, B. Larson, K. C. Lee, V. Leinert, M. Llana, S. Marrocoli, A. C. Meier, B. Morgan, D. Morgan, E. Neil, S. Nicholl, E. Normand, L. J. Ormsby, L. Pacheco, A. Piel, J. Preece, M. M. Robbins, A. Rundus, C. Sanz, V. Sommer, F. Stewart, N. Tagg, C. Tennie, V. Vergnes, A. Welsh, E. G. Wessling, J. Willie, R. M. Wittig, Y. G. Yuh, K. Zuberbühler, H. S. Kühl

(2020): Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity. Nature Communications

DOI

Lester, J. D., Vigilant, L., Gratton, P., McCarthy, M. S., Barratt, C. D., Boesch, C., Kuehl, H., Dieguez, P., ..., Arandjelovic, M.

(2020): Chimpanzee Biogeography Inferred from Genetic Diversity and Effective Migration. Folia Primatologica

DOI

Onstein, R. E., Vink, D. N., Veen, J., Barratt, C. D., Flantua, S. G. A., Wich, S. A., Kissling, W. D.

(2020): Palm fruit colours are linked to the broad-scale distribution and diversification of primate colour vision systems. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences

DOI

Crotti, M., Barratt, C. D., Loader, S. P., Gower, D. J., Streicher, J. W.

(2019): Causes and analytical impacts of missing data in RADseq phylogenetics: Insights from an African frog (Afrixalus). Zoologica Scripta

DOI

Barratt, C. D., Bwong, B. A., Jehle, R., Liedtke, H. C., Nagel, P., Onstein, R. E., Portik, D. M., Streicher, J. W., Loader, S. P.

(2018): Vanishing refuge? Testing the forest refuge hypothesis in coastal East Africa using genome-wide sequence data for seven amphibians. Molecular Ecology

DOI