Research Interests:

I primarily focus on animal ecology, with a particular emphasis on invasive vertebrate species and their impacts on biodiversity. Along with the processes of biological invasion—including introduction, establishment, spread, and outbreak, I investigate invasive vertebrates and their associated communities via an integrative approach that combines experiments, field surveys, and large-scale data analysis, aiming to elucidate the ecological mechanisms underlying invasion, assessing their invasion risks, and evaluating their consequences for biodiversity in the context of climate change and human disturbances.

Awards and Honors:

Professional Activities:

Research Grants:

National Key Research and Development Program of China (2024-2028), subproject PI The Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition Program (2021-2024), subproject PI National Natural Science Foundation of China (2023-2026), PI South Xinjiang Economy and High-Quality Development Research Project (2022-2024), PI Taohongling Sika Deer National Nature Reserve in Jiangxi Province (2023-2024), subproject PI

Selected Publications:

(#Co-first author, * corresponding author) Du Y.#, Xi Y.#, Yang Z.#, Zhang Z.#, Tu W., Zeng Y., Cui R., Yan Z., Xin Y., Jin W., Zhang Y., Yang L., Guo B., Ke Z., Rohr J., & Liu X.* (2024). High risk of biological invasion from prayer animal release in China. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, e2647. doi: 10.1002/fee.2647. Du Y.#, Wang X.#, Ashraf S.#, Tu W., Xi Y., Cui R., Chen S., Yu J., Han L., Gu S., Qu Y., & Liu X.* (2024). Climate match is key to predict range expansion of the world’s worst invasive terrestrial vertebrates. Global Change Biology, 30(1), e17137. doi: 10.1111/gcb.17137. Yan Z.#, Hu S.#, Du Y.#, Liang J., Chen S., Han L., Hong Y., Lin Z., Tu W., Li Y., Wang Y., Yu J., Qi T., Li W., Zhao P., Xi Y., Zhang Q., Cui R., Gu S., & Liu X.* (2024). Social media unveils the hidden but high magnitude of human-mediated biological invasions in China. Current Biology, 34(2): R47-R49. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.007 Li, Y.#, Du, Y.-B.#, Chen, J.-T., Wang, M.-Q., Guo, S.-K., Schuldt, A., Luo, A., Guo, P.-F., Mi, X.-C., Liu, X.-J., Ma, K.-P., Bruelheide, H., Chesters, D., Liu, X., & Zhu, C.-D*. (2023). Tree dissimilarity determines multi-dimensional beta-diversity of herbivores and carnivores via bottom-up effects. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92, 442– 453. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13868. Wu Y.#, Du Y.#, Liu X., Wan X., Yin B., Hao Y., & Wang Y.* (2023). Grassland biodiversity response to livestock grazing, productivity, and climate varies across biome components and diversity measurements. Science of The Total Environment, 878, 162994. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162994. Du Y.#, Fan L.#, Xu Z., Wen Z., Cai T., Feijo A., Hu J., Lei F., Yang Q.*, & Qiao H.* (2021). A multi-faceted comparative perspective on elevational beta-diversity: the patterns and their causes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288(1949), 20210343. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0343 Du Y., Wen Z., Zhang J., Lv X., Cheng J., Ge D., Xia L., & Yang Q. (2017). The roles of environment, space, and phylogeny in determining functional dispersion of rodents (Rodentia) in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Ecology and Evolution, 7(24), 10941-10951. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3613 Du Y.#, Tu W.#, Yang L., Gu D., Guo B.*, & Liu X.* (2022). Review on the impacts of invasive alien vertebrates on biodiversity. Scientia Sinica Vitae, 53(7): 1035-1054. doi: 10.1360/SSV-2022-0033. Tu W., Du Y., Stuart Y. E., Li Y., Wang Y., Wu Q., Guo B.*, & Liu, X.* (2024). Biological invasion is eroding the unique assembly of island herpetofauna worldwide. Biological Conservation, 300, 110853. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110853 Lin H.#, Wang X.#, Zhong M., Tang K., Du Y., Xu H., Yi J., Liu W., & Hu J.* (2024). Elevational patterns and assembly processes of multifaceted bird diversity in a subtropical mountain system. Journal of Biogeography, 51(7), 1276-1289. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14827 Xin Y., Yang Z., Du Y., Cui R., Xi Y., & Liu X.*. (2023). Vulnerability of Protected Areas to Future Climate Change, Land Use Modification, and Biological Invasions in China. Ecological Applications, e2831. doi: 10.1002/eap.2831. Han L.#, Zhang Z.#, Tu W., Zhang Q., Hong Y., Chen S., Lin Z., Gu S., Du Y., Wu Z.*, & Liu X*. (2023). Preferred prey reduce species realized niche shift and improve range expansion prediction. Science of The Total Environment, 859, 160370. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160370. Zhang L.#, Rohr J. #, Cui R.#, Xin Y., Han L., Yang X., Gu S., Du Y., Liang J., Wang X., Wu Z., Hao Q.*, & Liu X. * (2022). Biological invasions facilitate zoonotic disease emergences. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1762. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29378-2. Hong Y.#, He Y.#, Lin Z.#, Du Y., Chen S., Han L., Zhang Q., Gu S., Tu W., Hu S., Yuan Z.*, & Liu X*. (2022). Complex origins indicate a potential bridgehead introduction of an emerging amphibian invader (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) in China. NeoBiota, 77, 23-37. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.77.83205. Lin Z.#, Hong Y.#, Chen S., Zhang Q., Han L., Tu W., Du Y., Gu S., Yuan Z.*, Hu S.*, & Liu X.* (2023). Emerging non-native amphibians require immediate prevention management in a megacity of South China. BioInvasions Records, 12. doi: 10.3391/bir.2023.12.3.09. Wen Z., Ge D., Feijó A., Du Y., Cheng J., Sun J., Wang Y., Xia L., & Yang Q. (2021). Varying support for abundance‐centre and congeneric‐competition hypotheses along elevational transects of mammals. Journal of biogeography, 48(3), 616-627. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14025. Wen Z., Feijó A., Cheng J., Du Y., Ge D., Xia L., & Yang Q. (2021). Explaining mammalian abundance and elevational range size with body mass and niche characteristics. Journal of Mammalogy, 102(1), 13-27. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa093. Wen Z. #, Wu Y. #, Cheng J., Cai T., Du Y., Ge D., Xia L., & Yang Q. (2018). Abundance of small mammals correlates with their elevational range sizes and elevational distributions in the subtropics. Ecography, 41(11), 1888-1898. doi: 10.1111/ecog.03558. Wen Z., Quan Q., Du Y., Xia L., Ge D., & Yang Q. (2016). Dispersal, niche, and isolation processes jointly explain species turnover patterns of nonvolant small mammals in a large mountainous region of China. Ecology and Evolution, 6(4), 946-960. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1962. Wen Z., Wu Y., Du Y., Xia L., Ge D., Yang Q., & Chen L. (2014). Seasonal change of species diversity patterns of non‐volant small mammals along three subtropical elevational gradients. Biotropica, 46(4), 479-488. doi: 10.1111/btp.12123. Ge D., Lu L., Xia L., Du Y., Wen Z., Cheng J., Abramov A., & Yang Q. (2018). Molecular phylogeny, morphological diversity, and systematic revision of a species complex of common wild rat species in China (Rodentia, Murinae). Journal of Mammalogy, 99(6), 1350-1374. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy117 Ge D., Lu L., Cheng J., Xia L., Chang Y., Wen Z., Lv X., Du Y., Liu Q., & Yang Q. (2017). An endemic rat species complex is evidence of moderate environmental changes in the terrestrial biodiversity centre of China through the late Quaternary. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 46127. doi: 10.1038/srep46127