Dr Katherine Baldock

Associate Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

Research Interests

I am an ecologist with a particular interest in insect pollinators. My research focuses on understanding how anthropogenic activities affect biodiversity, ecological communities and ecosystem services. My research interests encompass a range of landscapes including urban, agricultural and natural ecosystems in both tropical and temperate environments.

I am also a knowledge exchange practitioner and during my postdoc and NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship I developed links with policymakers, practitioners and other non-academic stakeholders to increase the impact of my research by incorporating recommendations based on scientific evidence into policy and practice.

My current research projects include community-level studies of plant-pollinator interactions in urban landscapes in the UK and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in savannah habitats in Kenya.

For further information on my research and publications please see my profiles on Google Scholar, ORCID or Twitter.

Research Group

Francesca Martelli, Northumbria University RDF PhD student, 2021-2025

Project title: Interactions between pollinators and people: assessing the socio-economic drivers of garden and allotment management and implications for urban pollinator communities

Supervisors: Katherine Baldock (lead), Alister Scott, Mark Goddard

Beatrice Dale, NERC One Planet DTP PhD student, 2021-2025

Project title: Quantifying the importance of tree floral resources for pollinators in urban landscapes

Supervisors: Katherine Baldock (lead), Matthew Pound, Mark Goddard, Rinke Vinkenoog, Darren Evans (Newcastle University)

Federica Paradiso, NERC One Planet DTP PhD student, 2021-2025

Project title: Making space for urban pollinators: Strategies for enabling coexistence between honeybees and wild pollinators in cities

Supervisors: Mark Goddard (lead), Katherine Baldock, Matthew Pound, Mark Whittingham (Newcastle University)

Sarah Woods, Northumbria University PhD student, 2023-2026

Project title: How are nocturnal Lepidoptera affected by urbanisation and other anthropogenic factors?'

Supervisors: Andy Suggitt (lead), Katherine Baldock, Mark Goddard

Tiger Pugh, NERC One Planet DTP PhD student, 2024-2028

Project title: Grow or mow? Managing urban grasslands for pollinator conservation and soil ecosystem services

Supervisors: Katherine Baldock (lead), Miranda Prendergast-Miller, Mark Goddard; Elisa Lopez-Capel, Yit Arn Teh (Newcastle University)

Amy Sorrell, Northumbria University Urban Futures RDF PhD student, 2024-2029

Project title: Keen on Green: Working with residents to develop interventions for promoting biodiversity in urban green space

Supervisors: Lee Shepherd (lead), Katherine Baldock, Thomas Pollett

Alumni

Dr Nicholas Tew NERC GW4+ DTP PhD student, University of Bristol, 2017-2022

Project title: Floral resources and insect pollinators in urban landscapes

Supervisors: Jane Memmott (lead; University of Bristol), Katherine Baldock, Stephanie Bird (Royal Horticultural Society), Ian Vaughan (Cardiff University)

Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis, USA

Dr Joanne Morten, Research Assistant (2017-2018)

Project: Improving urban habitat management for insect pollinators and people

Funder: NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship

Completed a PhD at University of Exeter and currently Marine Science Officer at BirdLife International

Shannon Goldberg, Research Assistant (2022)

Project: Plant-pollinator interactions in urban parks (co-PIs Katherine Baldock, Mark Goddard, coI: Miranda Prendergast-Miller)

Funders: Beelines North East (Urban Green Newcastle, Northumberland Wildlife Trust) and Northumbria University internal funding

Shannon is currently a PhD student at Northumbria University

Bridget Scoular, Research Assistant (2025)

Project: Newcastle's Nature Networks (co-PIs Katherine Baldock, Mark Goddard)

Project Funders: This project is funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Project Partners: Newcastle City Council, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northumbria University, Natural History Society of Northumbria, Ouseburn Farm, Ouseburn Trust, Scotswood Garden

Biography

2023 - present: Associate Professor in Ecology, Northumbria University, UK

2019-2023: Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Ecology, Northumbria University, UK

2015-2019: NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow, University of Bristol, UK

2011-2015: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Bristol, UK

2009-2010: Applied Community Ecologist, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK

2008-2009: Teaching Fellow, University of Edinburgh, UK

Email Katherine

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Turnover in floral composition explains species diversity and temporal stability in the nectar supply of urban residential gardens, Tew, N., Baldock, K., Vaughan, I., Bird, S., Memmott, J. 1 Mar 2022, In: Journal of Applied Ecology
Large herbivores transform plant-pollinator networks in an African savanna, Guy, T., Hutchinson, M., Baldock, K., Kayser, E., Baiser, B., Staniczenko, P., Goheen, J., Pringle, R., Palmer, T. 12 Jul 2021, In: Current Biology
Quantifying nectar production by flowering plants in urban and rural landscapes, Tew, N., Memmott, J., Vaughan, I., Bird, S., Stone, G., Potts, S., Baldock, K. 1 Apr 2021, In: Journal of Ecology
Opportunities and threats for pollinator conservation in global towns and cities, Baldock, K. 1 Apr 2020, In: Current Opinion in Insect Science
A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities, Baldock, K., Goddard, M., Hicks, D., Kunin, W., Mitschunas, N., Morse, H., Osgathorpe, L., Potts, S., Robertson, K., Scott, A., Staniczenko, P., Stone, G., Vaughan, I., Memmott, J. 1 Mar 2019, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution
Where is the UK’s pollinator biodiversity? The importance of urban areas for flower-visiting insects, Baldock, K., Goddard, M., Hicks, D., Kunin, W., Mitschunas, N., Osgathorpe, L., Potts, S., Robertson, K., Scott, A., Stone, G., Vaughan, I., Memmott, J. 22 Mar 2015, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Constructing more informative plant–pollinator networks: visitation and pollen deposition networks in a heathland plant community, Ballantyne, G., Baldock, K., Willmer, P. 7 Sep 2015, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
A horizon scan of future threats and opportunities for pollinators and pollination, Brown, M., Dicks, L., Paxton, R., Baldock, K., Barron, A., Chauzat, M., Freitas, B., Goulson, D., Jepsen, S., Kremen, C., Li, J., Neumann, P., Pattemore, D., Potts, S., Schweiger, O., Seymour, C., Stout, J. 9 Aug 2016, In: PeerJ
Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England Evidence statements and Summary of Evidence: National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, Steele, D., Baldock, K., Potts, S., Senapathi, D., Brown, M., Dicks, L., Garratt, M., Breeze, T., Vanbergen, A. Jan 2019
Landscape impacts on pollinator communities in temperate systems: evidence and knowledge gaps, Senapathi, D., Goddard, M., Kunin, W., Baldock, K. 1 Jan 2017, In: Functional Ecology

PGR Supervision

Beatrice Dale Quantifying the importance of tree floral resources for pollinators in urban landscapes Start Date: 01/10/2021 End Date: 17/10/2025
Francesca Martelli Interactions between pollinators and people in private urban greenspaces Start Date: 18/01/2021 End Date: 01/10/2025
Beatrice Dale The role of tree floral resources for pollinators in urban landscapes Start Date: 01/10/2021
Tiger-Willow Pugh Grow or mow? Managing urban grasslands for pollinator conservation and soil ecosystem services Start Date: 01/10/2024
Tiger-Willow Pugh Grow or mow? Managing urban grasslands for pollinator conservation and soil ecosystem services Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025