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Charlie Hackforth

@hackforth.bsky.social
214 followers 151 following 26 posts

Postdoc working on pantropical insect communities and ecological networks @CNHackforth on the other site

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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Apply here by September 4th: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/fTf7fabMNY @filipemfranca.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @britishcouncil.bsky.social
forms.cloud.microsoft
Microsoft Forms
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Funded international workshop - please repost! 📍 Alter do Chão, Pará 📅 8–11 December 2026 Join other interdisciplinary researchers from UK & Brazil to explore the integration of ancestral and innovative technologies for monitoring Amazonian Sociobiodiversity. Funded by the British Council.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Huge thanks to my supervisors at UCL, Profs. Jan Axmacher and Simon Lewis, for their support across this project and beyond. And also to our fantastic Congolese collaborators Dr. Anthelme Tsoumou and Paul Loubaki for their immense support. Can't wait to share more of our hard work soon!
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Still, the distinctive structure of these communities poses a question on the ecological importance of insect herbivores in the peat swamp forest, and the functional contribution of peatland moth communities to other important processes such as pollination. Watch this space!
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Whilst taxonomic work continues, it is unclear whether the swamps support unique species, or whether these relatively young (on evolutionary scales) ecosystems support just a hardy subset of wider Congolese fauna. The richness of aquatic Acentropinae (Crambidae) is of particular ongoing interest.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Strongly contrasting seasonal patterns in moth abundance between peatland and non-peatland forest also point to altered dynamics based on water availability. Together, these results point to a suite of distinct ecological pressures shaping swamp forest moth communities.
Boxplots representing medians and distributions of abundance and species richness per trapping event for each combination of sampling treatments. Letters indicate significant differences between subsamples across wet and dry seasons for each forest strata, as determined by post hoc pairwise comparisons based on NBGLMs for each dataset.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Nutrient limitation in the harshly acidic flooded swamp forests may contribute to strong anti-herbivore plant defences, whilst open canopies lead to very exposed understories - each of which likely suppress moth abundance beyond what is predicted based solely on hostplant distributions.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Based on 1110 morphospecies from three one-hectare forest patches, we find evidence of species-poor but compositionally distinctive moth communities in these peatland forests. Following major taxonomic patterns in hostplant preferences, some groups flourished while others were mostly absent.
Familial proportions of moth species richness for data pooled across all sampling, data for each forest type and for each forest type split by season, plus a bar chart showing the overall recorded species richness in each subsample. For palm and hardwood swamp samples n = 8 for each season (n = 16 for combined seasonal data). For terra firme forest samples, n = 16 for dry season samples and n = 8 for wet season samples (n = 24 for combined seasonal data).
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Published today by @royalsociety.org: A special issue of Phil Trans B on the function, value and vulnerability of African Tropical peatlands. This issue contains the first paper from my PhD @uclgeography.bsky.social, describing the structure of moth communities in Central Congo peatland forests:
royalsocietypublishing.org
Spatial and seasonal taxonomic patterns in moth communities of the central Congo peatlands
Abstract. Tropical insect communities are highly diverse but understudied, limiting understanding of tropical forest ecosystem functioning. This is especia
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Filipe França @filipemfranca.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Our TropEco Lab has been busy in the last three months: three teams across four regions in the Brazilian Amazon and Ghanaian forests. A quick summary of the joy and madness of our #fieldwork across continents.
Image was taken from a tower with camera facing down. It shows the forest from the top, a dirty road crossing the Center and disappearing under the tree canopy. Also shows a small fieldwork white truck and solar panel used to power the equipment in the tower.Image shows a massive Bako tree (Tieghemella heckelii) with a scientist standing with arms up to show the large dimensions of the tree. The background is mostly green with smaller trees and the ground is brown with multiple dry leaves.Image shows a baby white-cheeked spider monkey (Ateles marginatus) trying to hide in the black hair of the scientist. The scientist is looking down, so you can see most of its hair and the baby monkey in the top, looking to the side. In the blurred background, it is possible to see the Indigenous houses made of wood walls and leaf roofs, a bright blue sky and some trees in the Panará Indigenous Territory, in Brazil.Image shows four man trying to carry a tree trunk they just cut to build a bridge to cross a river, so they can continue their track to the field plot. The photo shows the base of cut tree. The fallen tree is on the side. The man wear long sleeves (two with dark blue,’one gray, one black) and all are holding the tree trunk, trying to carry it.
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Patrick Kennedy @patrick-kennedy.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Four days left to apply for two postdocs in social evolution with me and @dustinrubenstein.com Based at the University of Bristol (UK), conducting fieldwork with wasps in Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Eoophyla dentisigna (Agassiz, 2012) Crambidae: Acentropinae C. Hackforth det. 2025 Republic of the Congo This fascinating group are aquatic as larvae, and adult females may enter the water for several hours to lay eggs. The tiny hindwing eyespots are thought to represent jumping spider mimicry.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Zamarada protrusa serrula (Fletcher, 1974) Geometridae: Ennominae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo One of ~25 Zamarada species collected from 3 hectares of Congolese lowland forest.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Porthesaroa sp. Erebidae: Lymantriinae C. Hackforth det. 2024 Republic of the Congo (new country record) This species currently awaits formal description.
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Maruca vitrata (Fabricius, 1787) Crambidae: Spilomelinae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo (new country record)
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Heterostegane pachyspila (Fletcher D. S., 1958) Geometridae: Ennominae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo (new country record)
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Cheroscelis oospila (Prout L. B., 1912) Geometridae: Geometrinae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Sciatta inconcisa (Walker, 1869) Noctuidae: Pantheinae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo (new country record)
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Pliniola gibba (Plötz, 1880) Erebidae: Arctiinae-Lithosiini C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo (new country record)
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Pseudambia albomaculalis (Hampson, 1897) Crambidae: Spilomelinae C. Hackforth det. 2025 Republic of the Congo (new country record)
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Balacra rubricincta (Holland, 1893) Erebidae: Arctiinae C. Hackforth det. 2023 Republic of the Congo
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
As we come to the end of 2025 I've had some time to photograph some moth specimens from my work in the Republic of the Congo, which I will share here in the coming weeks. First up: Mazuca strigicincta (Walker, 1866) Noctuidae: Xyleninae C. Hackforth det. 2024 Republic of the Congo
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Thrilled to today be starting as a PostDoc in the TropEco lab at the University of Bristol. I'll be working on the PanTropIn project, which aims to describe drivers and impacts of insect biodiversity changes across pantropical forests. Very excited to be up and running within an exciting new team!
A view over Clifden Suspension bridge at sunset
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Last week I defended my thesis "Structure and Function of Insect Communities in Central Congo Peatland Forests" with minor corrections. Thanks to supervisors Jan Axmacher and Simon Lewis for their inspiration and support, and to examiners Tim Newbold (UCL) and Ed Turner (Cambridge). Now, to publish!
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Rapid butterfly declines across the United States during the 21st century
Numerous declines have been documented across insect groups, and the potential consequences of insect losses are dire. Butterflies are the most surveyed insect taxa, yet analyses have been limited in ...
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Thanks for joining Stephen! So glad you enjoyed. Plenty of Lithosiini in the UK too - let’s discuss when we next meet, as I’m certain they’d be great bat food !
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
The programme for this two day meeting on African Tropical #Peatlands includes talks on climate, biogeochemistry, vegetation, socioecology, ecosystem dynamics, and of course insects. It will be closed by the Environment Minister of the Rep. of Congo. So something for everyone! Sign up at link below:
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/02/2025
World’s largely unprotected peatlands are ticking ‘carbon bomb’, warns study
theguardian.com
World’s largely unprotected peatlands are ticking ‘carbon bomb’, warns study
Bogs and swamps are a colossal carbon store but their continued destruction would blow climate change targets The world’s peatlands are “dangerously underprotected” despite the colossal amount of climate-heating carbon dioxide already being emitted due…
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Charlie Hackforth @hackforth.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Next Monday at 4.15, I will be speaking at the Royal Society in London about my PhD research on the insects of the Central Congo peatlands. The talk is part of a two day discussion meeting on African Tropical Peatlands. Register to attend in person or online here: royalsociety.org/science-even...
royalsociety.org
African tropical peatlands: their value and vulnerability | Royal Society
Discussion meeting organised by Professor Simon Lewis FRS, Professor Ifo Suspense Averti, Professor Corneille Ewango and Professor Angela Gallego-Sala.
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Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 08/02/2025
Recommended read: Issues around mining for cobalt – a mineral “essential to decarbonisation” – in the Democratic Republic of the Congo employ “new forms of old colonial practices”, researchers wrote in @us.theconversation.com
buff.ly
DRC: history is repeating itself in Lubumbashi as the world scrambles for minerals to go green
Lubumbashi is little known, but its minerals electrified the world, created atom bombs and are key to greener energy, the defining geopolitical issue of our time.
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CongoPeat @congopeat.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
The programme for our upcoming scientific meeting on the theme of tropical #peatlands in Africa is now live. The meeting will be held at the Royal Society in London and will be streamed online. To register for free or find out more visit: ow.ly/BEu550UCvZg @royalsocietypublishing.org
Poster advertising the dates and organisers of the upcoming meeting on African tropical peatlands
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