Staff profile

Research Interests

My research interests center broadly on gaining a better understanding of the amazing biodiversity that we see around us today, and how this biodiversity has changed through time. I work on multiple scales at the intersection between ecology, evolution, cellular biology, physiology, and conservation. For example, I investigate questions such as:

 

1) What are the evolutionary relationships between recognized (and cryptic) species?

2) How does ecology play a role in the divergence of populations?

3) How are closely related and ecologically similar species able to coexist?

4) How do species become adapted to their environment?

5) How do species respond to natural and anthropogenic change over time? 

6) How can humans and biodiversity coexist together successfully?

 

To address these questions I employ a variety of genetic techniques, ranging from DNA barcoding, metagenomics, and transciprtomics to full genome sequencing. I incorporate an explicit temporal perspective by sequencing ancient DNA from paleontological, archeological, and historical museum collections. This comprehensive, integrative approach provides the power necessary to address these complex and critically important questions.

 

Interested in joining the lab? There are several opportunities for postdocs, postgraduates (including RCUK-sponsored students), and undergraduate students (including placement students) to join the lab. We value diversity in the lab and I encourage all inquisitive and motivated people to contact me, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or background.

 

For more, check out my lab website, my Google Scholar profile or my page on Durham Research Online for copies of papers.

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Chapter in book

• Evolutionary history of brown and polar bears
  
  Hailer, F., & Welch, A. (2016). Evolutionary history of brown and polar bears. In Encyclopedia of life sciences. (pp. 1-8). John Wiley and Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0026303

Journal Article

• Reassessing niche partitioning in MacArthur’s warblers: foraging behaviour, morphology and diet differentiation in a phylogenetic context
  
  Miller, E. T., Wood, A. W., Baiz, M., Welch, A. J., Fleischer, R. C., Dale, A. S., & Toews, D. P. L. (2025). Reassessing niche partitioning in MacArthur’s warblers: foraging behaviour, morphology and diet differentiation in a phylogenetic context. Biology Letters, 21(4), Article 20250001. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0001
• Postglacial Recolonization of the Southern Ocean by Elephant Seals Occurred From Multiple Glacial Refugia
  
  Berg, A. A., Askew, M., Seersholm, F. V., Verry, A. J. F., Hoelzel, A. R., Welch, A., Greig, K., Walter, R., Knapp, M., Barlow, A., Paijmans, J. L. A., Waters, J. M., Bunce, M., McDonald, K., O’Connor, S., Hall, B., Koch, P. L., Baroni, C., Salvatore, M. C., … de Bruyn, M. (2025). Postglacial Recolonization of the Southern Ocean by Elephant Seals Occurred From Multiple Glacial Refugia. Global Change Biology, 31(3), Article e70101. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70101
• Moult is associated with higher diversity of food items in the diet of Common Bulbuls ( Pycnonotus barbatus ) in Cameroon
  
  Jarrett, C., Nwaogu, C. J., Tchana, C. N., Kamkeng, M. F. M., Quiñones, A. L. S., Olguin‐Villa, M. C., Helm, B., Powell, L. L., & Welch, A. J. (2025). Moult is associated with higher diversity of food items in the diet of Common Bulbuls ( Pycnonotus barbatus ) in Cameroon. Ibis: International Journal of Avian Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13395
• The role of landscape context in shaping bat assemblages in African cacao plantations
  
  Ferreira, D. F., Jarrett, C., Atagana, P. J., Welch, A. J., Powell, L. L., & Rebelo, H. (2024). The role of landscape context in shaping bat assemblages in African cacao plantations. Science of the Total Environment, 954, Article 176393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176393
• Keystone individuals – linking predator traits to community ecology
  
  LaBarge, L. R., Krofel, M., Allen, M. L., Hill, R., Welch, A. J., & Allan, A. T. L. (2024). Keystone individuals – linking predator traits to community ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 39(11), 983-994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.07.001
• Pre-eradication updated seabird survey including new records on Amsterdam Island, southern Indian Ocean
  
  Lesage, C., Cherel, Y., Delord, K., d’Orchymont, Q., Fretin, M., Levy, M., Welch, A., & Barbraud, C. (2024). Pre-eradication updated seabird survey including new records on Amsterdam Island, southern Indian Ocean. Polar Biology, 47, 1093–1105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-024-03282-5
• Museum genomics provide insight into the extinction of a specialist North American warbler species
  
  Byerly, P. A., Kearns, A. M., Welch, A., Ochirbat, M.-E., Marra, P. P., Wilson, A., Campana, M. G., & Fleischer, R. C. (2024). Museum genomics provide insight into the extinction of a specialist North American warbler species. Scientific Reports, 14(1), Article 17047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67595-5
• Carotenoid skin ornaments as flexible indicators of male foraging behavior in a marine predator: Variation among Mexican colonies of brown booby ( Sula leucogaster )
  
  Michael, N. P., Torres, R., Welch, A. J., Felis, J., Adams, J., Bonillas-Monge, M. E., Hodgson, S., Lopez-Marquez, L., Martínez-Flores, A., Castro-Mejias, G. E., & Wiley, A. E. (2024). Carotenoid skin ornaments as flexible indicators of male foraging behavior in a marine predator: Variation among Mexican colonies of brown booby ( Sula leucogaster ). Marine Biology, 171(5), Article 118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-024-04429-y
• Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial
  
  Baker, K. H., Gray, H. W. I., Lister, A. M., Spassov, N., Welch, A. J., Trantalidou, K., De Cupere, B., Bonillas, E., De Jong, M., Çakırlar, C., Sykes, N., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2024). Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 3015. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48112-6
• Fewer pests and more ecosystem service‐providing arthropods in shady African cocoa farms: Insights from a data integration study
  
  Jarrett, C., Cyril, K., Haydon, D. T., Wandji, C. A., Ferreira, D. F., Welch, A. J., Powell, L. L., & Matthiopoulos, J. (2024). Fewer pests and more ecosystem service‐providing arthropods in shady African cocoa farms: Insights from a data integration study. Journal of Applied Ecology, 61(2), 304-315. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14563
• Not all farms are created equal: Shady African cocoa farms promote a richer bat fauna
  
  Ferreira, D. F., Darling, A., Jarrett, C., Atagana, P. J., Sandjo, P. R., Taedoumg, H., Welch, A. J., Rebelo, H., & Powell, L. L. (2023). Not all farms are created equal: Shady African cocoa farms promote a richer bat fauna. Biological Conservation, 284, Article 110191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110191
• Widespread southern elephant seal occupation of the Victoria land coast implies a warmer-than-present Ross Sea in the mid-to-late Holocene
  
  Hall, B. L., Koch, P. L., Baroni, C., Salvatore, M. C., Hoelzel, A. R., de Bruyn, M., & Welch, A. J. (2023). Widespread southern elephant seal occupation of the Victoria land coast implies a warmer-than-present Ross Sea in the mid-to-late Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews, 303, Article 107991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.107991
• Integration of mark-recapture and acoustic detections for unbiased population estimation in animal communities
  
  Jarrett, C., Haydon, D. T., Morales, J. M., Ferreira, D. F., Alemanji Forzi, F., Welch, A. J., Powell, L. L., & Matthiopoulos, J. (2022). Integration of mark-recapture and acoustic detections for unbiased population estimation in animal communities. Ecology, 103(10), Article e3769. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3769
• Current Methods and Future Directions in Avian Diet Analysis
  
  Hoenig, B., Snider, A., Forsman, A., Hobson, K., Latta, S., Miller, E., Polito, M., Powell, L., Rogers, S., Sherry, T., Toews, D., Welch, A., Taylor, S., & Porter, B. (2022). Current Methods and Future Directions in Avian Diet Analysis. Ornithology, 139(1), Article ukab077. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab077
• Palaeoceanographic changes in the late Pliocene promoted rapid diversification in pelagic seabirds
  
  Ferrer-Obiol, J., James, H., Chesser, R., Bretagnolle, V., González-Solís, J., Rozas, J., Welch, A., & Riutort, M. (2022). Palaeoceanographic changes in the late Pliocene promoted rapid diversification in pelagic seabirds. Journal of Biogeography, 49(1), 171-188. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14291
• Integrating Sequence Capture and Restriction Site-Associated DNA Sequencing to resolve Recent Radiations of Pelagic Seabirds
  
  Obiol, J. F., James, H. F., Chesser, R. T., Bretagnolle, V., González-Solís, J., Rozas, J., Riutort, M., & Welch, A. J. (2021). Integrating Sequence Capture and Restriction Site-Associated DNA Sequencing to resolve Recent Radiations of Pelagic Seabirds. Systematic Biology, 70(5), 976-996. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa101
• Bird communities in African cocoa agroforestry are diverse but lack specialized insectivores
  
  Jarrett, C., Smith, T., Claire, T., Ferreira, D., Tchoumbou, M., Elikwo, M., Wolfe, J., Brezeski, K., Welch, A., Hanna, R., & Powell, L. (2021). Bird communities in African cocoa agroforestry are diverse but lack specialized insectivores. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58(6), 1237-1247. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13864
• Bitter fruits of hard labour: Diet metabarcoding and telemetry reveal that urban songbirds travel further for lower-quality food
  
  Jarrett, C., Powell, L., McDevitt, H., Helm, B., & Welch, A. (2020). Bitter fruits of hard labour: Diet metabarcoding and telemetry reveal that urban songbirds travel further for lower-quality food. Oecologia, 193(2), 377-388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04678-w
• First record of a piebald Bates’s Slit-faced Bat, Nycteris arge (Chiroptera: Nycteridae) from Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa
  
  Ferreira, D. F., Torrent, L., Welch, A. J., Wolfe, J. D., Brzeski, K., & Powell, L. L. (2020). First record of a piebald Bates’s Slit-faced Bat, Nycteris arge (Chiroptera: Nycteridae) from Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa. Journal of Bat Research & Conservation, 13(1), 88-92. https://doi.org/10.14709/barbj.13.1.2020.14
• Evidence for a duplicated mitochondrial region in Audubon’s shearwater based on MinION sequencing
  
  Torres, L., Welch, A., Zanchetta, C., Chesser, R., Manno, M., Donnadieu, C., Bretagnolle, V., & Pante, E. (2019). Evidence for a duplicated mitochondrial region in Audubon’s shearwater based on MinION sequencing. Mitochondrial DNA Part A, 30(2), 256-263. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2018.1484116
• Molecular systematics of swifts of the genus Chaetura (Aves: Apodiformes: Apodidae)
  
  Chesser, R., Vaseghi, H., Hosner, P., Bergner, L., Cortes-Rodriguez, M., Welch, A., & Collins, C. (2018). Molecular systematics of swifts of the genus Chaetura (Aves: Apodiformes: Apodidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 128, 162-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.07.006
• Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird, Sula leucogaster
  
  Michael, N., Torres, R., Welch, A., Adams, J., Bonillas-Monge, M., Felis, J., Lopez-Marquez, L., Martínez-Flores A., & Wiley, A. (2018). Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird, Sula leucogaster. Biology Letters, 14(9), Article 20180398. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0398
• Collagen fingerprinting and the earliest marine mammal hunting in North America
  
  Hofman, C., Rick, T., Erlandson, J., Reeder-Myers, L., Welch, A., & Buckley, M. (2018). Collagen fingerprinting and the earliest marine mammal hunting in North America. Scientific Reports, 8, Article 10014. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28224-0
• Cryptic Lineage Differentiation Among Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the Northwest Indian Ocean
  
  Gray, H., Nishida, S., Welch, A., Moura, A., Tanabe, S., Kiani, M., Culloch, R., Möller, L., Natoli, A., Ponnampalam, L., Minton, G., Gore, M., Collins, T., Willson, A., Baldwin, R., & Hoelzel, A. (2018). Cryptic Lineage Differentiation Among Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the Northwest Indian Ocean. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 122, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.027
• Data characterizing the chloroplast genomes of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae) and their close relatives
  
  Welch, A., Collins, K., Ratan, A., Drautz-Moses, D., Schuster, S., & Lindqvist, C. (2016). Data characterizing the chloroplast genomes of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae) and their close relatives. Data in Brief, 7, 900-922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2016.03.037
• The quest to resolve recent radiations: Plastid phylogenomics of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae)
  
  Welch, A., Collins, K., Ratan, A., Drautz-Moses, D., Schuster, S., & Lindqvist, C. (2016). The quest to resolve recent radiations: Plastid phylogenomics of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 99, 16-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.02.024
• Population genomics of the killer whale indicates ecotype evolution in sympatry involving both selection and drift
  
  Moura, A., Kenny, J., Chaudhuri, R., Hughes, M., Welch, A., Reisinger, R., de Bruyn, P., Dahlheim, M., Hall, N., & Hoelzel, A. (2014). Population genomics of the killer whale indicates ecotype evolution in sympatry involving both selection and drift. Molecular Ecology, 23(21), 5179-5192. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12929
• Phylogenetic relationships of the extinct St Helena petrel, Pterodroma rupinarum Olson, 1975 (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae), based on ancient DNA
  
  Welch, A., Olson, S., & Fleischer, R. (2014). Phylogenetic relationships of the extinct St Helena petrel, Pterodroma rupinarum Olson, 1975 (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae), based on ancient DNA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 170(3), 494-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12078
• Polar Bears Exhibit Genome-Wide Signatures of Bioenergetic Adaptation to Life in the Arctic Environment
  
  Welch, A., Bedoya-Reina, O., Carretero-Paulet, L., Miller, W., Rode, K., & Lindqvist, C. (2014). Polar Bears Exhibit Genome-Wide Signatures of Bioenergetic Adaptation to Life in the Arctic Environment. Genome Biology and Evolution, 6(2), 433-450. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evu025
• Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome
  
  Ibarra-Laclette, E., Lyons, E., Hernández-Guzmán, G., Pérez-Torres, C., Carretero-Paulet, L., Chang, T.-H., Lan, T., Welch, A., Abraham Juárez, M., Simpson, J., Fernández-Cortés, A., Arteaga-Vázquez, M., Góngora-Castillo, E., Acevedo-Hernández, A., Schuster, S., Himmelbauer, H., Minoche, A., Xu, S., Lynch, M., … Herrera-Estrella, L. (2013). Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome. Nature, 498(7452), 94-98. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12132
• Millennial-scale isotope records from a wide-ranging predator show evidence of recent human impact to oceanic food webs
  
  Wiley, A., Ostrom, P., Welch, A., Fleischer, R., Gandhi, H., Southon, J., Stafford, T., Penniman, J., Hu, D., Duvall, F., & James, H. (2013). Millennial-scale isotope records from a wide-ranging predator show evidence of recent human impact to oceanic food webs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(22), 8972-8977. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1300213110