Dr Matthew Hill
Senior Lecturer in Conservation Science
Profile
I complete my undergraduate degree in Geography at Loughborough University in 2011, and stayed on there for my PhD which examined the environmental and spatial drivers of pond macroinvertebrate communities. This research also provided practical management and conservation recommendations to support pond networks. I completed my PhD in 2015 and undertook postdoctoral research (2016-2018) at the University of Worcester on the management and conservation of intermittent rivers. I have been a lecturer at the University of Huddersfield and Bournemouth University, and in 2025 I joined Harper Adams University as a Senior Lecturer in Conservation Science.
Research Interests
My current research interests focus on tackling key freshwater biodiversity and conservation challenges. In particular, I am interested in understanding the patterns and drivers of freshwater biodiversity at different spatial (from local to international) and temporal (seasons to centuries) scales. I am also working on interdisciplinary projects that aim to develop more effective management and conservation practices across a range of freshwater habitats (rivers, ponds, ditches, canals, lakes) within human dominated landscapes. This research focusses on applied management at the landscape scale, and more recently on understanding the socio-political context of urban freshwaters, and how this can inform conservation.
Student Education
I teach across several modules on the Environment, Conservation and Property Management programmes as well as on the MSc/MRes Entomology programmes. My teaching covers classroom, computer and laboratory sessions, and fieldwork where the students gain first hand experience of the habitats and ecosystems that they have covered in class. I also supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students across a range of ecological and environmental disciplines.
PhD supervision
Current Postgraduate Students
- Teddy Mills: Connecting patterns and processes in freshwater landscapes: implications for farmland restoration (2024 onwards).
- Gemma Stride: Assessing the impact of pollution management on freshwater biodiversity (2024 onwards).
Past Postgraduate Students
- Selam Solomon Gebresalassie (2024): Local and landscape scale patterns of macroinvertebrate diversity across ponds in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- .Melanie Milin (2023): Aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity in an intermittent river network: implications for freshwater biodiversity conservation.
Professional Memberships
- Member of the British Ecological Society
Academic Department: Agriculture and Environment
Research: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Group (EEC)
X/Twitter: @mhill846
Office: AC10 Aspire Centre
Publications
Other publications
- White, J.C., Seddon, E., Hill, M.J., Mathers, K.L., Bridger, M., Hannah, D.M. and Wood, P.J., (2025) Going to the archives: Combining palaeoecological and contemporary data to support river restoration appraisals River Research and Applications 41(1), pp.23-36.
- Milner, V. S., Hill, M. J., Gething, K. J. and Cunningham, S. B., (2025) What a load of rubbish: the impact of anthropogenic litter on urban freshwater diversity Environmental Pollution
- Hill, M.J., White, J.C., Hawkins, J., Binu, N., Baker, E., Greaves, H.M. and Sayer, C.D., (2025) Both pond creation and restoration provide long term biodiversity gains in agricultural landscapes: implications for conservation. Biological Conservation, 309, p.111279. Biological Conservation 309, p.111279.
- Clifford, C., Bieroza, M., Clarke, S.J., Pickard, A., Stratigos, M.J., Hill, M.J., et al. (2025) Lines in the landscape Nature Communications: Earth & Environment 6, p.693
- Shen, M., Van Klink, R., Sagouis, A., Petsch, D. K., Abong'o, D. A., Alahuhta, J., ... & Chase, J. M. (2024) FreshLanDiv: a global database of freshwater biodiversity across different land uses Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(12), p.e13917.
- Mathers, K.L., Robinson, C.T., Hill, M., Kowarik, C., Heino, J., Deacon, C. and Weber, C., 2024. (2024) How effective are ecological metrics in supporting conservation and management in degraded streams? Biodiversity and Conservation 33(14), pp.3981-4002.
- Mathers, K.L., Armitage, P.D., Hill, M., Bickerton, M., Mckenzie, M., Pardo, I., Tickner, D. and Wood, P.J., (2024) Context specific effects of substrate composition on the taxonomic and functional diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in temperate lowland streams Ecology and Evolution 14(8), p.e70034
- Snåre, H., García-Girón, J., Alahuhta, J., Bini, L. M., Boda, P., Bonada, N., ... & Heino, J. (2024) The relationships between biotic uniqueness and abiotic uniqueness are context dependent across drainage basins worldwide Landscape Ecology 39(4), 86
- Hill, M.J., Wood, P.J., White, J.C., Thornhill, I., Fairchild, W., Williams, P., Nicolet, P. and Biggs, J., (2024) Environmental correlates of aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity in garden ponds: Implications for pond management Insect Conservation and Diversity 17(2), pp.374-385
- Hill, M.J., Deacon, C., Wood, P.J., Milin, M., Gebreselassie, S.S. and Gibbins, C., (2024) Aquatic macroinvertebrate conservation in lentic systems In Routledge Handbook of Insect Conservation (pp. 357-371). Routledge.
- Siqueira, T., Hawkins, C. P., Olden, J. D., Tonkin, J., Comte, L., Saito, V. S., ... & Ruhi, A. (2024) Understanding temporal variability across trophic levels and spatial scales in freshwater ecosystems Ecology 105(2), e4219
- Mathers, K.L., Armitage, P.D., Hill, M., McKenzie, M., Pardo, I. and Wood, P.J., (2023) Seasonal variability of lotic macroinvertebrate communities at the habitat scale demonstrates the value of discriminating fine sediment fractions in ecological assessments Ecology and Evolution 13(10), p.e10564
- Slimani, N., Guilbert, E., White, J.C., Hill, M.J., Wood, P.J., Boumaïza, M. and Thioulouse, J. (2022) Unravelling the environmental correlates influencing the seasonal biodiversity of aquatic Heteropteran assemblages in northern Africa Limnologica 97, p.126021
- Gebreselassie, S.S., Lechner, A.M., Hill, M.J., Teo, F.Y. and Gibbins, C.N., (2022) A review of current knowledge and research priorities for conservation of lentic biodiversity in tropical wet and monsoonal urban landscapes Freshwater Biology 67(10), pp.1671-1689
- Hill, M.J., Thornhill, I., Tiegs, S.D., Castro-Castellon, A., Hernández-Avilés, J.S., Daw, A., Salinas-Camarillo, V.H. and Hobbs, S., (2022) Organic-matter decomposition in urban stream and pond habitats Ecological Indicators 142, p.109232.
- Mathers, K.L., Doretto, A., Fenoglio, S., Hill, M.J. and Wood, P.J. (2022) Temporal effects of fine sediment deposition on benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, function and biodiversity likely reflects landscape setting Science of the Total Environment 829, p.154612
- Thornhill, I., Hill, M.J., Castro-Castellon, A., Gurung, H., Hobbs, S., Pineda-Vazquez, M., Gómez-Osorio, M.T., Hernández-Avilés, J.S., Novo, P., Mesa-Jurado, A. and Calderon-Contreras, (2022) Blue-space availability, environmental quality and amenity use across contrasting socioeconomic contexts Applied Geography 144, p.102716
- Hill, M.J., Wood, P.J., Fairchild, W., Williams, P., Nicolet, P. and Biggs, J., (2021) Garden pond diversity: Opportunities for urban freshwater conservation Basic and Applied Ecology 57, pp.28-40
- Hill, M.J., Greaves, H.M., Sayer, C.D., Hassall, C., Milin, M., Milner, V.S., Marazzi, L., Hall, R., Harper, L.R., Thornhill, I. and Walton, R., (2021) Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps Ecosphere 12(12), p.e03853
- Hill, M.J., Wood, P.J. and Mathers, K.L., (2021) Taxonomic and functional macroinvertebrate diversity of high?altitude ponds in the Macun Cirque, Switzerland Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 31(11), pp.3201-3214
- Teo, H.C., Hill, M.J., Lechner, A.M., Teo, F.Y. and Gibbins, C.N., (2021) Landscape-scale remote sensing and classification of lentic habitats in a tropical city Wetlands 41(7), p.95
- Deacon, C., Fox, B.R., Morland, L., Samways, M.J., Weaver, S., Massey, R. and Hill, M.J., (2021) Patterns in macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness and community assembly among urban wetlands in Cape Town, South Africa: implications for wetland management Urban Ecosystems 24, pp.1061–1072
- Harper, L.R., Lawson Handley, L., Sayer, C.D., Read, D.S., Benucci, M., Blackman, R.C., Hill, M.J. and Hänfling, B., (2021) Assessing the impact of the threatened crucian carp (Carassius carassius) on pond invertebrate diversity: A comparison of conventional and molecular tools Molecular Ecology 30(13), pp.3252-3269
- Hill, M.J., White, J.C., Biggs, J., Briers, R.A., Gledhill, D., Ledger, M.E., Thornhill, I., Wood, P.J. and Hassall, C., (2021) Local contributions to beta diversity in urban pond networks: Implications for biodiversity conservation and management Diversity and Distributions 27(5), pp.887-900
- White, J.C., Fornaroli, R., Hill, M.J., Hannah, D.M., House, A., Colley, I., Perkins, M. and Wood, P.J., (2021) Long-term river invertebrate community responses to groundwater and surface water management operations Water Research 189, p.116651
- Mathers, K.L., White, J.C., Guareschi, S., Hill, M.J., Heino, J. and Chadd, R., (2020) Invasive crayfish alter the long?term functional biodiversity of lotic macroinvertebrate communities Functional Ecology 34(11), pp.2350-2361
- Cardoso, P., Barton, P. S., Birkhofer, K., Chichorro, F., Deacon, C., Fartmann, T., ... & Samways, M. J. (2020) Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions Biological conservation 242, p.108426
- Samways, M. J., Barton, P. S., Birkhofer, K., Chichorro, F., Deacon, C., Fartmann, T., ... & Cardoso, P. (2020) Solutions for humanity on how to conserve insects Biological Conservation 242, p.108427
- White, J.C., Armitage, P.D., Bass, J.A., Chadd, R.P., Hill, M.J., Mathers, K.L., Little, S. and Wood, P.J., 2019. (2019) How freshwater biomonitoring tools vary sub?seasonally reflects temporary river flow regimes River Research and Applications 35(8), pp.1325-1337
- Hill, M.J., Mathers, K.L., Little, S., Worrall, T., Gunn, J. and Wood, P.J., (2019) Ecological effects of a supra-seasonal drought on macroinvertebrate communities differ between near-perennial and ephemeral river reaches Aquatic Sciences 81, pp.1-12
- Seddon, E., Hill, M., Greenwood, M.T., Mainstone, C., Mathers, K., White, J.C. and Wood, P.J., (2019) The use of palaeoecological and contemporary macroinvertebrate community data to characterize riverine reference conditions River Research and Applications 35(8), pp.1302-1313
- Hill, M.J., Heino, J., White, J.C., Ryves, D.B. and Wood, P.J., (2019) Environmental factors are primary determinants of different facets of pond macroinvertebrate alpha and beta diversity in a human-modified landscape Biological Conservation 237, pp.348-357
- White, J.C., Krajenbrink, H.J., Hill, M.J., Hannah, D.M., House, A. and Wood, P.J., (2019) Habitat?specific invertebrate responses to hydrological variability, anthropogenic flow alterations, and hydraulic conditions Freshwater biology 64(3), pp.555-576
- Hill, M.J., Biggs, J., Thornhill, I., Briers, R.A., Ledger, M., Gledhill, D.G., Wood, P.J. and Hassall, C., (2018) Community heterogeneity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in urban ponds at a multi-city scale Landscape Ecology 33, pp.389-405
- Mathers, K.L., Hill, M.J., Wood, C.D. and Wood, P.J., (2018) The role of fine sediment characteristics and body size on the vertical movement of a freshwater amphipod Freshwater Biology 64(1), pp.152-163
- Hill, M. J., Hassall, C., Oertli, B., Fahrig, L., Robson, B. J., Biggs, J., ... & Wood, P. J. (2018) New policy directions for global pond conservation onservation Letters 11(5), p.e12447
- Thornhill, I.A., Biggs, J., Hill, M.J., Briers, R., Gledhill, D., Wood, P.J., Gee, J.H., Ledger, M. and Hassall, C., (2018) The functional response and resilience in small waterbodies along land?use and environmental gradients Global Change Biology 24(7), pp.3079-3092
- Hill, M.J. and Milner, V.S., (2018) Ponding in intermittent streams: A refuge for lotic taxa and a habitat for newly colonising taxa? Science of the Total Environment 628, pp.1308-1316
- Hill, M.J., Heino, J., Thornhill, I., Ryves, D.B. and Wood, P.J., (2017) Effects of dispersal mode on the environmental and spatial correlates of nestedness and species turnover in pond communities Oikos 126(11), pp.1575-1585
- White, J.C., Hill, M.J., Bickerton, M.A. and Wood, P.J., (2017) Macroinvertebrate taxonomic and functional trait compositions within lotic habitats affected by river restoration practices Environmental Management 60, pp.513-525
- Hill, M.J., Death, R.G., Mathers, K.L., Ryves, D.B., White, J.C. and Wood, P.J., (2017) Macroinvertebrate community composition and diversity in ephemeral and perennial ponds on unregulated floodplain meadows in the UK Hydrobiologia 793, pp.95-108
- Mathers, K.L., Hill, M.J. and Wood, P.J., (2017) Benthic and hyporheic macroinvertebrate distribution within the heads and tails of riffles during baseflow conditions. Hydrobiologia 794, pp.17-30
- Hill, M.J., Biggs, J., Thornhill, I., Briers, R.A., Gledhill, D.G., White, J.C., Wood, P.J. and Hassall, C., (2017) Urban ponds as an aquatic biodiversity resource in modified landscapes Global change biology 23(3), pp.986-999
- Hill, M.J., Ryves, D.B., White, J.C. and Wood, P.J., (2016) Macroinvertebrate diversity in urban and rural ponds: Implications for freshwater biodiversity conservation Biological Conservation 201, pp.50-59
- Hill, M.J., Chadd, R.P., Morris, N., Swaine, J.D. and Wood, P.J., (2016) Aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity associated with artificial agricultural drainage ditches Hydrobiologia 776, pp.249-260
- Hassall, C., Hill, M. and Gledhill, D., (2016) The ecology and management of urban pondscapes In Urban landscape ecology (pp. 147-165). Routledge.
- Wood, P.J., Armitage, P.D., Hill, M.J., Mathers, K.L. and Millett, J., (2016) Faunal response to fine sediment deposition in urban rivers In River science: Research and management for the 21st century, pp.219-238
- Hill, M.J., Sayer, C.D. and Wood, P.J., (2016) When is the best time to sample aquatic macroinvertebrates in ponds for biodiversity assessment? Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 188, pp.1-11
- Hill, M.J., Mathers, K.L. and Wood, P.J., (2015) The aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity of urban ponds in a medium-sized European town (Loughborough, UK) Hydrobiologia 760, pp.225-238
- Moggridge, H.L., Hill, M.J. and Wood, P.J., (2014) Urban aquatic ecosystems: the good, the bad and the ugly Fundamental and Applied Limnology 185(1), pp.1-6
- Hill, M.J. and Wood, P.J., (2014) The macroinvertebrate biodiversity and conservation value of garden and field ponds along a rural-urban gradient Fundam Appl Limnol/Arch für Hydrobiol 185, 107–119
Modules
You can contact Dr Matthew Hill if you would like to discuss any of the following course modules: