Thomas Ward Crowther
Date of birth: 18 June 1986
Address: Yale University, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511,
USA
Email: Thomas.Crowther@yale.edu
Academic Interests:
Soil Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Global Change Ecology,
Current:
2012-present: Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the Yale Climate & Energy Institute.
Advisor: Dr Mark Bradford. School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University.
Higher Education:
 2004-2007 Cardiff University: B.Sc. (Hons) Zoology, Class I.
 2008-2011 Cardiff University: PhD in Ecology, supervised by Dr Hefin Jones, Prof.
Lynne Boddy and Prof. John Morgan. Funded by NERC.
Grants and Awards:
 April 2012: Yale Climate & Energy Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship ($120,000).
 September 2010: Anne Keymer Prize for the Best PhD Student Talk at the British
Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Leeds, UK.
 May 2010: 1ST prize for the best PhD student Oral and Poster presentations at the
Cardiff School of Biosciences Annual Away-Day Conference, Cardiff, UK.
Journal Editorial Boards:
 2012-Present: Agricultural and Forest Entomology.
Journal Reviewing:
Reviewer for Ecology Letters, Ecology, Global Change Biology, Journal of Animal Ecology,
Oecologia, Functional Ecology, Agricultural & Forest Entomology, Ecological Entomology,
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Soil Biology & Biochemistry and Fungal Ecology
Teaching experience:
 Yale University (2012-present): Soil Science Lecturer
 Cardiff University (2008-2012): Demonstrated in undergraduate classes including
Ecology, Entomology, Mycology, Statistics and Biology Field Courses
 Operation Wallacea, Honduras (2010): Lectured on endemism, conservation and
herpetofauna.
Supervising experience
 Co-advised one PhD student and one Masters of Research student in Yale University.
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Co-supervised 33 Cardiff University undergraduate students on their Final Year
Dissertation projects, 7 of which published this work in international, peer-review
journals.
Co-supervised two Cardiff University Masters of Research (MRes) students in their
dissertation projects.
Publications in review (* indicates joint first author):
Crowther, T.W, Daniel S. Maynard, Jonathan W. Leff, Emily E. Oldfield, Rebecca L.
McCulley, Noah Fierer & Mark A. Bradford. Vulnerability of global soil biodiversity to
deforestation. in review.
Mark A. Bradford, Robert J. Warren II, Petr Baldrian, Thomas W. Crowther, Emily E.
Oldfield, Stephen A. Wood and Joshua R. King. Microbes and not climate as the
predominant control on decomposition rates. in review.
Dray, M.D., Crowther, T.W.*, Thomas S,M., A. A’Bear, A.D., Godbold, D.L., Ormerod, S.J.,
Hartley, S.E., Jones, T.H. Effects of elevated CO2 on litter chemistry and subsequent
invertebrate detritivore feeding responses. In review.
Peer-reviewed publications (* represents joint first author):
Crowther, T.W., Stanton, D., Thomas, S, A’Bear A.D., Hiscox, J., Jones, T.H., Voříšková,
J., Baldrian, P. & Boddy, L. (2013). Top-down control of soil fungal community
composition by a globally distributed keystone species. Ecology, in press.
Crowther, T.W. & Bradford, M.A. (2013). Thermal acclimation in widespread
heterotrophic soil microbes. Ecology Letters, 16, 469-77.
Bradford M.A., & Crowther, T. W.* (2013) Carbon use efficiency and storage in terrestrial
ecosystems. New Phytologist, 199, 7-9.
A’Bear A.D., Crowther, T.W.*, Ashfield, R., Chadwick, D.D.A., Dempsey, J., Meletiou,
L., Rees, C.L., Jones, T.H., Boddy, L. (2013). Localised invertebrate grazing moderates the
effect of warming on competitive fungal interactions. Fungal Ecology, 6, 137–140.
Crowther, T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. (2012) Functional and ecological consequences
of saprotrophic fungus-grazer interactions. ISME J, 6, 1992–2001.
Crowther, T.W., Littleboy, A., Jones, T.H. & Boddy, L. (2012) Interactive effects of
warming and invertebrate grazing on the outcomes of competitive fungal interactions. FEMS
Microbiology Ecology, 81, 419-426.
Crowther, T.W., Jones, T.H. & Boddy, L. (2012) Interactions between saprotrophic
basidiomycete mycelia and mycophagous soil fauna. Mycology, 3, 77-86. Special issue: The
impact of fungi on other organisms.
Crowther, T.W. & A’ Bear, A.D. (2012) Impacts of grazing soil fauna on decomposer fungi
are species-specific and density-dependent. Fungal Ecology, 5, 277–281.
Tordoff, G.M., Chamberlain, P.M., Crowther, T.W., Black, H.I.J., Jones, T. H., Stott, A. &
Boddy, L. (2011) Invertebrate grazing affects nitrogen partitioning in the saprotrophic
fungus Phanerochaete velutina. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43, 2338-2346.
Crowther T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. (2011) Outcomes of fungal interaction are
determined by soil invertebrate grazers. Ecology Letters, 14, 1134-1142. (Cover
photograph).
Crowther, T.W., Jones, T.H., Boddy, L. & Baldrian, P. (2011) Invertebrate grazing
determines enzyme production by basidiomycete fungi. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43,
2060-2068.
Crowther, T.W., Jones, T.H. & Boddy, L. (2011) Species-specific effects of grazing
invertebrates on mycelial emergence and growth from woody resources into soil. Fungal
Ecology, 5, 333-341.
Crowther, T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. (2011) Species-specific effects of soil fauna on
fungal foraging and decomposition. Oecologia, 167, 535-545.
Invited Presentations
 Crowther, T.W. Biotic interactions mediate soil-climate feedbacks. University of
Colorado at Boulder, April 2013. Invited by Dr Noah Fierer.
 Crowther, T.W. Decomposer interactions shape the underworld. Bowling Green State
University, December 2012. Invited by Dr Shannon Pellini.
 Crowther, T.W. Decomposer interactions shape the underworld. Yale University,
Novebmer 2012. School of F&ES weekly seminar series.
 Crowther, T.W. Interactive effects of warming and grazing on fungal community
structure and function. Harvard University, May 2012. Invited by Dr Aaron Ellison.
 Crowther, T.W. & A’Bear, A.D. Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the growth and
functioning of saprotrophic basidiomycete fungi. Netherlands Institute for Ecology,
January 2012. Invited by Prof Wim van der Putten.
Recent, first author conference proceedings
 Crowther, T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. Species-specific effects of soil fauna on
fungal foraging and decomposition. Paper presented at the British Ecological Society
Annual Meeting, 2009.
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Crowther, T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. Outcomes of fungal interaction are
determined by soil invertebrate grazers. Paper presented at the British Ecological
Society Annual Meeting, 2010.
Crowther, T.W., Boddy, L. & Jones, T.H. Functional and ecological consequences of
saprotrophic fungus-grazer interactions. Paper presented at the British Ecological
Society Annual Meeting, 2011.
Crowther, T.W & Bradford, M.A. Vulnerability of Soil Biodiversity to Deforestation.
INTECOL, 2013.
Media attention
 Peacekeeping creatures help maintain woodland diversity. Various sources including
The Western Mail and Wales Online, September 2011
 Woodland Warfare in a Warming World. NERC Planet Earth Online article, Autumn
2012.
 Climate-Ecosystem Carbon Feedbacks. YCEI Climate and Energy Institute, February
2013
 Thermal Adaptation in Heterotrophic Soil Microbes. YCEI Climate and Energy
Institute, January 2013.
 Fungi, not plants, drive long-term carbon sequestration in boreal forest. YCEI
Climate and Energy Institute, May 2013.
Academic society memberships
 British Ecological Society
 Soil Ecology Society
Other Scholarly activities:
 Judge for the Poster presentation award at the International Association for Ecology
Conference (2013).
 Chair for the ‘Above-ground below-ground interactions’ session at the International
Association for Ecology Conference (2013).
 Volunteer tutor at New Haven Reads, New Haven, USA (2012-present)
 Stem Ambassador for Cardiff University, Wales (2011-2012)