Cuff et al. (2022). The predator problem and PCR primers in molecular dietary analysis: swamped or silenced; depth or breadth? Molecular Ecology Resources.

Tercel & Cuff (2022). The complex epistemological challenge of data curation in dietary metabarcoding: Comment on ‘The precautionary principle and dietary DNA metabarcoding: commonly used abundance thresholds change ecological interpretation’ by Littleford-Colquhoun et al., (2022). Molecular Ecology.

Cuff et al. (2022). Candy-striped spider leaf and habitat preferences for egg deposition. Agricultural and Forest Entomology.

Cuff et al. (2022). Overcoming the pitfalls of merging dietary metabarcoding into ecological networks. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Cuff et al. (2022). Density-independent prey choice, taxonomy, life history and web characteristics determine the diet and biocontrol potential of spiders (Linyphiidae and Lycosidae) in cereal crops. Environmental DNA.

Drake et al. (2022). An assessment of minimum sequence copy thresholds for identifying and reducing the prevalence of artefacts in dietary metabarcoding data. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Tercel et al. (2022). DNA metabarcoding reveals introduced species predominate in the diet of a threatened endemic omnivore, Telfair’s skink (Leiolopisma telfairii). Ecology and Evolution.

Cuff et al. (2021). It’s all about the zone: spider assemblages in different ecological zones of Levantine caves. Diversity.

Cuff & Windsor et al. (2021). Influence of European beech (Fagales: Fagaceae) rot hole habitat characteristics on invertebrate community structure and diversity. Journal of Insect Science.

Tercel, Symondson & Cuff (2021). The problem of omnivory: A synthesis on omnivory and DNA metabarcoding. Molecular Ecology.

Cuff et al. (2021). MEDI: a rapid, cheap and streamlined protocol for Macronutrient Extraction and Determination from Invertebrates. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Cuff et al. (2020). Money spider dietary choice in pre- and post-harvest cereal crops as revealed by metabarcoding. Ecological Entomology.

Cuff et al. (2020). Home is where the heart rot is: violet click beetle, Limoniscus violaceus (Müller, 1821), habitat attributes and volatiles. Insect Conservation and Diversity.

Ammann et al. (2020). Insights into aphid prey consumption by ladybirds: Optimising field sampling methods and primer design for High Throughput Sequencing. PLoS ONE.

Telfer et al. (2020). Neobisium simile (L. Koch, 1873) (Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae): a new British species. Arachnology.

Badell-Grau and Cuff et al. (2020). The prevalence of reactive online searching in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Cuff et al. (2020). ‘Using DNA metabarcoding to analyse the gut contents of spiders’ in Wheater et al. Practical Field Ecology. 2^nd edition, Wiley-Blackwell, pp 121-124.

Lafage et al. (2019). A new primer for metabarcoding of spider gut contents. Environmental DNA.

Bajwa et al. (2019). Assessment of nematodes in Punjab Urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) Population in Kalabagh Game Reserve: development of a DNA barcode approach. European Journal of Wildlife Research.

Cuff et al. (2022). Weather modulates spider trophic interactions: the interactive effects of prey community structure, adaptive web building and prey choice. Authorea.

Cuff et al. (2022). An infoveillance analysis of public interest, national data and wastewater monitoring in Wales, UK. JMIR Preprints.

Cuff et al. (2022). Networking nutrients: how nutrition determines the structure of ecological networks. Authorea.

Cuff et al. (2022). The predator problem and PCR primers in molecular dietary analysis: swamped or silenced; depth or breadth? Authorea.

Whittingham, Kitson & Cuff (2022). High-throughput papain-based DNA extraction from whole invertebrates. Protocols.io.

Cuff et al. (2022). Evidence for nutrient-specific foraging of invertebrate predators under field conditions. Authorea.

Cuff et al. (2022). Merging dietary metabarcoding into networks: turning “don’ts” into “dos”. Methods.blog.

Cuff & Drake (2022). Cover Stories: Cleaning up false positives with minimum sequence copy thresholds. Methods.blog.

Cuff & Kitson (2022). High-throughput and cost effective pan trap DNA extraction. Protocols.io.

Cuff et al. (2021). A streamlined protocol for high-throughput amplification-based analysis of DNA samples via nanopore sequencing (based on the 96-well PCR barcoding kit). Protocols.io.

Cuff (2021). Further micro-scaled MEDI (Macronutrient Extraction and Determination from Invertebrates). Protocols.io.

Cuff & Wilder (2021). MEDI: Macronutrient Extraction and Determination from Invertebrates. Protocols.io.

Drake et al. (2021). Post-bioinformatic methods to identify and reduce the prevalence of artefacts in metabarcoding data. Authorea.

Cuff and Tercel (2021). MEDI: Macronutrient Extraction and Determination from Invertebrates. Methods.blog.

Bruford et al. (2020). Cardiff University Ecosystem Resilience and Biodiversity Action Plan (ERBAP) 2021-2023. Cardiff University.

Cuff (2020). British Arachnological Society Lockdown Spider Surveys. British Arachnological Society Newsletter.

Badell-Grau and Cuff et al. (2020). Viral media: the prevalence of reactive online searching in the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Internet Research Preprints.

Young and Cuff (2020). Four ways people stuck at home became armchair naturalists during lockdown. The Conversation.

Lafage et al. (2019). A new primer for metabarcoding of spider gut contents. PeerJ Preprints.

Cuff and Rowson (2019). A Quick introduction to a prominent malacologist of the 20th Century. Mollusc World.

Cuff (2016). Home is where the heart-rot is. SEWBReC: Gwent-Glamorgan Recorders’ Newsletter.

Trophic Interactions

Since my PhD I’ve only become increasingly enthusiastic about trophic ecology. This has mostly revolved around spiders, but I’ve had the joy of dabbling in or helping out with beetles, other invertebrates, reptiles and birds. I’ve critically reviewed how we detect these interactions, but also how we process and interpret the data and integrate them into wider datasets. Beyond simply identifying what an organism has eaten, I am fascinated by how predators choose their next meal (prey choice). I am constantly looking for ways to innovate in this field, whether that’s through new technologies like nanopore sequencing, or new ways of analysing data.

Molecular Ecology

Alongside (and often for) my molecular dietary analyses, I’ve helped to design or test PCR primers for everything from nematodes, through aphids, to spider gut contents (for both wolf spiders and money spiders). I’ve also reviewed significant problems in detecting interactions, assessed methods for curating molecular dietary data and identified how best to integrate them into ecological networks. I love trying new techniques and dabbling in different applications. Most of my molecular research has used Illumina sequencing platforms, but I have used nanopore sequencing for everything from mitochondrial assembly to dietary analysis and metaviromics.

Nutritional Ecology

The crux of my PhD was the detection of nutrient-specific foraging (the selection of prey based on their nutrient contents) in the field. Whilst I was a nutrient novice at the start of this process, I soon had to develop a protocol for the streamlined analysis of nutrient content in small invertebrates. From here, my interest in nutrient dynamics has evolved toward nutritional fluxes in ecological networks.

Community Ecology

Since my very first research project on earthworm communities in agricultural landscapes, I have been fascinated by the dynamic communities of invertebrates abundant across the natural world. I have compared invertebrate communities to identify the arthropods cohabiting with species of conservation concern, to determine how predators choose their prey and to highlight the importance of different habitat types or how species assemblages differ along spatial gradients. Community ecology is fundamental to understanding trophic interactions, so my fascination with these aggregations of invertebrates will not taper off anytime soon!

Ecological Chemistry

Alongside my nutrient work, I have dabbled in other forms of biochemistry and chemical ecology. The importance of chemicals in invertebrate communication truly cannot be overstated, which has led me to analyse scents to better understand habitat choice, predator-prey dynamics and even disease vectoring. Through volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), I want to explore further the interactions between predators and their prey.

Natural History

After spending three months working in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff as a curatorial assistant, my interest in natural history was truly piqued. During this magical time, I had the immense pleasure of taking large mollusc collections, including that of Hamilton Quick, from acquisition through to placement in the wider museum collections. I also dabbled in mollusc materials collected for various research projects from South Wales to Tanzania. I have continued to look at ecological interactions through the lens of natural history. I have also collaborated with arachnologists in the National Natural History Collections in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to describe the spatial dynamics of cave spiders. Through this aspect of my work, I have applied my molecular experience to the identification of species new to Britain too.