Cang Hui

Cang Hui
At a 2017 conference
Born	(1977-06-10) 10 June 1977
Alma mater	Xi'an Jiaotong University Lanzhou University
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematical Ecology
Institutions	Stellenbosch University

Cang Hui (Chinese: 惠苍; born 10 June 1977) is a mathematical ecologist currently working at Stellenbosch University. His research interests are proposing models and theories for explaining emerging patterns of biodiversity, networks and adaptive traits in ecology and evolution.

Background

Hui was born in Xi'an and received his BSc (1998) in Applied Mathematics from Xi'an Jiaotong University, his MSc (2001) in Applied Mathematics from Lanzhou University, and his PhD (2004) in Mathematical Ecology from the same university. Hui was a Researcher at the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology from 2008 to 2013, and has remained a Core-Team Member of the center since. Hui was appointed Visiting Professor in the MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (also known as the Research School of Arid Environment & Climate Change from 2006 to 2009 and Adjunct Professor since 2011 at Lanzhou University. In January 2014, Hui was promoted to Full Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Stellenbosch University for his appointment as the South African Research Chair in Mathematical & Theoretical Physical Biosciences by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. This appointment is co-hosted by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Muizenberg. Hui lives with his wife Beverley, daughter Keira and son Zachary in Cape Town.

Awards

2014, South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Mathematical & Theoretical Physical Biosciences
2011, Elsevier Young Scientist Award

Research

Hui is working on the interface between mathematics and biology. His interests lie in proposing models and theories for explaining emerging patterns in ecology. Ecology studies biodiversity in its variety and complexity. Due to their non-random nature, ecological processes are highly complex and adaptive. In order to quantify emergent ecological patterns and to investigate their hidden mechanisms, we need to rely on the simplicity of mathematical language. His research focus is to develop novel and apply available methods in mathematics, statistics and theoretical physics for unlocking the mechanisms behind realistic patterns. Nature never fails to amaze us. Scientific research endeavors to measure natural objects, to quantify patterns and structures from these measurements, and ultimately to identify the mechanisms governing these patterns and structures. This is equal to unveiling (i) what patterns exist in nature, (ii) how such patterns emerge, and (iii) why nature organizes itself in such a way. His research, thus, focuses in three specific areas. First, spatial and dynamic complexity caused by organism-environment feedbacks and biotic interactions. Second, the scaling patterns of biodiversity, with the emphasis on the profound effect of spatial scales on macroecological and community assemblage patterns. Finally, using biological invasions, as a natural experiment, to study how species sharpen their weaponries and how the recipient systems respond. These three areas of research all serve to clarify the interactions among patterns, scales and dynamics in the ever-evolving ecological systems. His recent research has been focused on how patterns related to the heterogeneity of species distributions, the hierarchy of biological networks and the dynamics of adaptive traits, change with spatial and temporal scales. Using scale as a thread, his research weaves the kaleidoscope of biological patterns into a cohesive whole.

His research includes:

- Scaling pattern of occupancy
- Occupancy frequency distribution
- Occupancy-abundance relationship
- Spatial analysis
- Ecological pattern formation
- Spread of invasive species and the spatiotemporal dynamics
- Ecological prisoner's dilemma game
- Niche construction
- Effect of habitat destruction on metapopulation dynamics

Representative Works

• Hui, C. & Richardson, D.M. (2017) Invasion Dynamics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1987-4533-4.
• Hui, C. (2015) Unlocking patterns of nature – The marriage of mathematics and ecology. Inaugural Lecture, Stellenbosch University & SUN MeDIA. ISBN 978-0-7972-1543-6.
• Nuwagaba, S., Zhang, F. & Hui, C. (2015) A hybrid behavioural rule of adaptation and drift explains the emergent architecture of antagonistic networks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282: 20150320.
• Landi, P., Hui, C. & Dieckmann, U. (2015) Fisheries-induced disruptive selection. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 365: 204-216.
• Zhao, Z.H., Hui, C., He, D.H. & Li, B.L. (2015) Effects of agricultural intensification on ability of natural enemies to control aphids. Scientific Reports, 5: 8024.
• Shi, P.J., Huang, J.G., Hui, C., Grissino-Mayer, H.D., Tardif, J.C., Zhai, L.H., Wang, F.S. & Li, B.L. (2015) Capturing spiral radial growth of conifers using the superellipse to model tree-ring geometric shape. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6: 856.
• Hui, C. & McGeoch, M.A. (2014) Zeta diversity as a concept and metric that unifies incidence-based biodiversity patterns. American Naturalist, 184: 684-694.
• Minoarivelo, H.O., Hui, C., Terblanche, J.S., Kosakovsky Pond, S.L. & Scheffler, K. (2014) Detecting phylogenetic signal in mutualistic interaction networks using a Markov process model. Oikos, 123: 1250-1260.
• Ramanantoanina, A., Ouhinou, A. & Hui, C. (2014) Spatial assortment of mixed propagules explains the acceleration of range expansion. PLoS ONE, 9: e103409. (see correction at PLoS ONE 10: e0136479)
• Gaertner, M., Biggs, R., Te Beest, M., Hui, C., Molofsky, J. & Richardson, D.M. (2014) Invasive plants as drivers of regime shifts: Identifying high priority invaders that alter feedback relationships. Diversity and Distributions, 20: 733-744.
• Donaldson, J.E., Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Robertson, M.P., Webber, B.L. & Wilson, J.R.U. (2014) Invasion trajectory of alien trees: the role of introduction pathway and planting history. Global Change Biology, 20: 1527-1537.
• Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Visser, V. & Wilson, J.R.U. (2014) Macroecology meets invasion ecology: performance of Australian acacias and eucalypts around the world foretold by features of their native ranges. Biological Invasions, 16: 565-576.
• Zhang, F. & Hui, C. (2014) Recent experience-driven behaviour optimizes foraging. Animal Behaviour, 88: 13-19.
• Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Pyšek, P., Le Roux, J.J., Kučera, T. & Jarošík, V. (2013) Increasing functional modularity with residence time in the co-distribution of native and introduced vascular plants. Nature Communications, 4: 2454.
• Berthouly-Salazar, C., Hui, C., Blackburn, T.M., Gaboriaud, C., van Rensburg, B.J., van Vuuren, B.J. & Le Roux, J.J. (2013) Long-distance dispersal maximizes evolutionary potential during rapid geographic range expansion. Molecular Ecology, 22: 5793-5804.
• Woodford, D.J., Hui, C., Richardson, D.M. & Weyl, O.L.F. (2013) Propagule pressure drives establishment of introduced freshwater fish: quantitative evidence from an irrigation network. Ecological Applications, 23: 1926-1937.
• Zhang, F., Hui, C. & Pauw, A. (2013) Adaptive divergence in Darwin’s race: how coevolution can generate trait diversity in a pollination system. Evolution, 67: 548-560.
• Hui, C., Roura-Pascual, N., Brotons, L., Robinson, R.A. & Evans, K.L. (2012) Flexible dispersal strategies in native and non-native ranges: environmental quality and the ‘good-stay, bad-disperse’ rule. Ecography, 35: 1024-1032.
• Hui, C., Boonzaaier, C. & Boyero, L. (2012) Estimating changes in species abundance from occupancy and aggregation. Basic and Applied Ecology, 13: 169-177.
• Berthouly-Salazar, C., van Rensburg, B.J., le Roux, J.J. van Vuuren, B.J. & Hui, C. (2012) Spatial sorting drives morphological variation in the invasive bird, Acridotheres tristis. PLoS ONE, 7: e38145.
• Hui, C., Foxcroft, L.C., Richardson, D.M. & MacFadyen, S. (2011) Defining optimal sampling effort for large-scale monitoring of invasive alien plants: a Bayesian method for estimating abundance and distribution. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48: 768-776.
• Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Robertson, M.P., Wilson, J.R.U. & Yates, C.J. (2011) Macroecology meets invasion ecology: linking the native distributions of Australian acacias to invasiveness. Diversity and Distributions, 17: 872-883.
• Hui, C. (2011) Forecasting population trend from the scaling pattern of occupancy. Ecological Modelling, 222: 442-446.
• Richardson, D.M., Carruthers, J., Hui, C., Impson, F.A.C., Maslin, B., Robertson, M.P., Rouget, M., le Roux, J.J. & Wilson, J.R.U. (2011) Human-mediated introductions of Australian acacias – a global experiment in biogeography. Diversity and Distributions, 17: 771-787.
• Roura-Pascual, N., Hui, C., Ikeda, T., Leday, G., Richardson, D.M., Carpintero, S., Espadaler, X., Gómez, C., Guénard, B., Hartley, S., Krushelnycky, P., Lester, P.J., McGeoch, M.A., Menke, S.B., Pedersen, J.S., Pitt, J.P., Reyes, J., Sanders, N.J., Suarez, A.V., Touyama, Y., Ward, D., Ward, P.S. & Worner, S.P. (2011) The relative roles of climate suitability and anthropogenic influence in determining the pattern of spread in a global invader. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 108: 220-225.
• Yue, D.X., Xu, X.F., Hui, C., Xiong, Y.C., Han, X.M. & Ma, J.H. (2011) Biocapacity supply and demand in Northwestern China: a spatial appraisal of sustainability. Ecological Economics, 70: 988-994.
• Zhang, F. & Hui, C. (2011) Eco-evolutionary feedback and the invasion of cooperation in prisoner’s dilemma games. PLoS ONE, 6: e27523.
• Zhang, F., Hui, C. & Terblanche, J.S. (2011) An interaction switch predicts the nested architecture of mutualistic networks. Ecology Letters, 14: 797-803.
• Hui, C., Krug, R.M. & Richardson, D.M. (2011) Modelling spread in invasion ecology: a synthesis. In: D.M. Richardson, ed. Fifty Years of Invasion Ecology: The Legacy of Charles Elton, pp. 329–343. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. ISBN 978-1-44432-998-8.
• Hui, C., Veldtman, R. & McGeoch, M.A. (2010) Measures, perceptions and scaling patterns of aggregated species distributions. Ecography, 33: 95-102.
• Roura-Pascual, N., Bas, J.M. & Hui, C. (2010) The spread of the Argentine ant: environmental determinants and impacts on native ant communities. Biological Invasions, 12: 2399-2412.
• Roura-Pascual, N., Krug, R.M., Richardson, D.M. & Hui, C. (2010) Spatially-explicit sensitivity analysis for conservation management: exploring the influence of decision in invasion alien plant management. Diversity and Distributions, 16: 426-438.
• Zhang, F., Tao, Y., Li, Z.Z. & Hui, C. (2010) The evolution of cooperation on fragmented landscapes: the spatial Hamilton rule. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 12: 23-33.
• Hui, C., Terblanche, J.S., Chown, S.L. & McGeoch, M.A. (2010) Parameter landscapes unveil the bias in allometric prediction. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1: 69-74.
• Hui, C., McGeoch, M.A., Reyers, B., le Roux, P.C., Greve, M. & Chown, S.L. (2009) Extrapolating population size from the occupancy-abundance relationship and the scaling pattern of occupancy. Ecological Applications, 19: 2038-2048.
• Hui, C. (2009) On the scaling pattern of species spatial distribution and association. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 261: 481-487.
• Gaertner, M., den Breeyen, A., Hui, C. & Richardson, D.M. (2009) Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a meta-analysis. Progress in Physical Geography, 33: 319-338.
• Roura-Pascual, N., Bas, J.M., Thuiller, W., Hui, C., Krug, R.M. & Brotons, L. (2009) From introduction to equilibrium: reconstructing the invasive pathways of the Argentine ant in a Mediterranean region. Global Change Biology, 15: 2101-2115.
• Hui, C. & McGeoch, M.A. (2008) Does the self-similar species distribution model lead to unrealistic predictions? Ecology, 89: 2946-2952.
• Hui, C. & McGeoch, M.A. (2007) Modeling species distributions by breaking the assumption of self-similarity. Oikos, 116: 2097-2107.
• Hui, C. & McGeoch, M.A. (2007) A self-similarity model for occupancy frequency distribution. Theoretical Population Biology, 71: 61-70.
• Hui, C., McGeoch, M.A. & Warren, M. (2006) A spatially explicit approach to estimating species occupancy and spatial correlation. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75: 140-147.

External links

- Personal webpage: [1]