Zeng Yiwen

Assistant Professor, Asian School of the Environment / School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University
Email: yiwen.zeng@ntu.edu.sg
PhD National University of Singapore

AlumNUS
PhD NUS
BSc (Hons) NUS

Current designation:

Assistant Professor, Asian School of the Environment / School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University

Spatial and Conservation Ecology Lab

Google Scholar profile

ResearchGate profile

Areas of interest

Decapod biology/behavior; Invasion biology; Ecological modeling; Species distribution modeling; Freshwater ecology

Background

As an undergraduate, my research mainly focused on decapod crustaceans, having worked on the visual capabilities and behavior of burrowing Alpheid (snapping shrimp), as well as trait-based assessments of invasiveness and vulnerability of freshwater crayfish. Since then, my research interest has spread to invasion biology, with a key focus on understanding the mechanisms that drive such processes, as well as the impacts. Utilizing non-indigenous crayfish as a model taxon, my PhD investigated the drivers of a non-native crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) spread in Singapore, and the impacts of this invasion on a native freshwater crab, Parathelphusa maculata (via trophic and behavioral interactions). As part of my PhD work, I also developed techniques to improve species distribution modeling, and used such methods to predict the aggregated risk of non-native crayfish and climate change to Southeast Asian freshwater crabs. Over the past few years, I have also been part of several other research projects (as a mentor) that investigate biological invasions in Singapore. These projects include trait-based risk assessments of alien freshwater fishes and marine crabs, as well as projects determining mechanisms that drive the spread of freshwater fishes and other freshwater decapods (shrimps).

During my post-doctoral work with FIB Lab, I worked on a project that studies the mechanisms that regulate freshwater stream communities in Singapore. Specifically, through this project, we hope to quantify the relationship (trophic and otherwise) between the various aspects of the freshwater community—from riparian vegetation to the microbial, macroinvertebrate and fish communities.

Selected publications

  • Zeng, Y., K. K. Shakir & D. C. J. Yeo, 2019. Competition between a native freshwater crab and an invasive crayfish in tropical Southeast Asia. Biological Invasions, : 1–11.
  • Vilizzi, L., G. H. Copp, B. Adamovich, D. Almeida, J. Chan, P. I. Davison, S. Dembski, F. G. Ekmekçi, Á. Ferincz, S. C. Forneck, J. E. Hill, J-E Kim, N. Koutsikos, R. S. E. W. Leuven, S. A. Luna, F. Magalhães, S. M. Marr, R. Mendoza, C. F. Mourão, J. W. Neal, N. Onikura, C. Perdikaris, M. Piria, N. Poulet, R. Puntila, I. L. Range, P. Simonović, F. Ribeiro, A. S. Tarkan, D. F. A. Troca, L. Vardakas, H. Verreycken, L. Vintsek, O. L. F. Weyl, D. C. J. Yeo, & Y. Zeng. A global review and meta-analysis of applications of the freshwater Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, : 1–40.
  • Zeng, Y. & D. C. J. Yeo, 2018. Assessing the aggregated risk of invasive crayfish and climate change to freshwater crabs: A Southeast Asian case study. Biological Conservation, 223: 58–67.
  • Zeng, Y., B. W. Low & D. C. J. Yeo, 2016. Novel methods to select environmental variables in MaxEnt: a casestudy using invasive crayfish. Ecological Modelling, 341: 5–13.
  • Chua, K. W. J., D. J. J. Ng, Y. Zeng & D. C. J. Yeo, 2015. Habitat characteristics of tropical rainforest freshwater crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Potamidae, Gecarcinucidae) in Singapore. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 35(4): 533–539.
  • Zeng Y., K. Y. Chong, E. K. Grey, D. M. Lodge & D. C. J. Yeo, 2015. Disregarding human pre-introduction selection can confound invasive crayfish risk assessments. Biological Invasions, 17(8): 2373–2385.
  • Zeng Y., C. McLay & D. C. J. Yeo, 2014. Capital or income breeding crabs: who are the better invaders? Crustaceana, 87(14): 1648–1656.
  • Jaafar, Z & Y. Zeng, 2012. Visual acuity of the goby-associated shrimp, Alpheus rapax. Crustaceana, 85(12-13): 1487–1497.
  • Lodge, D. M., A. Deines, F. Gherardi, D. C. J. Yeo, T. Arcella, A. K. Baldridge, M. A. Barnes, J. Chadderton, J. L. Feder, C. A. Gantz, G. W. Howard, C. L. Jerde, B. W. Peters, J. A. Peters, L. W. Sargent, C. R. Turner, M. E. Wittmann & Y. Zeng, 2012. Global introductions of crayfishes: evaluating the impact of species invasions on ecosystem services. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 43: 449–472.
  • Zeng, Y & Z. Jaafar, 2012. Repetitive-motion display: A new behavior in a burrowing Alpheid Shrimp. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 32(5): 693–697.