Research Student Spotlight May 2026: James Hodson

Our monthly spotlight on the work and lives of the next generation of water@leeds researchers.

Name: James Hodson

PhD title: Upscaling freshwater invasive species impact prediction

School of Biology

Supervisors: Dr Josie South and Dr Elizabeth Duncan

Tell us a bit about yourself

I grew up in Ilkley (mostly), near Leeds, and spent my time either walking, reading, or with my family. After my undergraduate in Psychology and Biology at Newcastle University, I spent a year working for Newcastle University STEM outreach team, followed by an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation at Leeds (having realised a love of ecology halfway through my undergraduate), and a year doing student work at a Leeds Church.

Why did you choose Leeds University? 

I choose Leeds university because of its closeness to family and friends, my familiarity with great facilities available, and because I wanted to continue working with Josie South and other excellent academics based in Leeds. Interdisciplinary groups like water@leeds also make Leeds well-suited for pursuing my research interests.

What is your research about? 

Briefly, invasive species are major causes of ecological and socio-economic damage. My work looks at improving the way we can predict freshwater invasive species impact, namely when and where they will have the most impact so we can prioritise areas to protect. Having sworn never to work on crayfish again after my MSc my research involves looking at a range of invasive fish, alongside a few invasive crayfish too (I love them really). It’s a broad and complex topic which suits me perfectly because I get to learn a whole range of different techniques to tackle it. For example, I am currently trying to work out how evolutionarily novel invasive crayfish in Kruger National Park are influencing native fish through trait, taxonomic, fisheries, and stable isotope analyses.

What did you wish you knew before starting a PhD?  

That the first 6-9 months would feel wobbly as I settled in, but that once I had I would absolutely love the project, and how it has taught me to think. Also, that the more formal process involved in the PhD are not as intimidating as they at first seem and actually just a great chance to talk about your work.

James on LinkedIn and Google Scholar.