Biography
Jamie is an ecophysiologist and chemical ecologist who uses interdisciplinary tools to understand the interactions between plants and their environment, with a particular focus on herbivory. Specifically, his work explores how chemical, morphological and developmental plant traits shape herbivore feeding patterns and vice versa. Jamie uses techniques spanning chemistry, molecular biology and behavioural ecology to understand these interactions on a mechanistic level. He holds a BS in Forestry from the University of Vermont (2018) and a PhD in Ecology from Western Sydney University (2021). During his PhD, he explored how silicon accumulation and deposition integrate with carbon-based defence pathways in silicon hyperaccumulating plant species, and how these silicon-based defences impact herbivores. In 2021, Jamie was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to conduct an independent research project at the University of Bern, where he investigated the dynamic patterns of stress-induced plant volatile production, emission and perception. Currently, Jamie is building kinetic models to understand the relationship between complex damage patterns and plant defence responses, as well as actively seeking funding to continue exploring the physiological mechanisms underlying the dynamic patterns and processes of plant-environment interactions across scales.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Waterman Jamie M., Cofer Tristan M., Von Laue Ophélie M., Mateo Pierre, Wang Lei, Erb Matthias, Leaf Size Determines Damage- and Herbivore-Induced Volatile Emissions in Maize, Plant, Cell & Environment, 2025
Hu Lingfe, Zhang Kaid, Xu Yachu, Zheng Xiaoxua, Waterman Jamie M, Ouyang Xia, Wu Zhenwe, Shen Zhichen, He Ya, Ma Bi, Robert Christelle A. M, Raaijmakers Jos M, Ye Men, Erb Matthia, Xu Jianmin, Herbivory-induced green leaf volatiles increase plant performance through jasmonate-dependent plantâ"soil feedbacks, Nature Plants, 2025
Waterman JM, Cofer TM, Wang L, Glauser G, Erb M., High-resolution kinetics of herbivore-induced plant volatile transfer reveal clocked response patterns in neighboring plants., eLife, 12, 2024, pRP89855
Hajdu C, Molnár BP, Waterman JM, Machado RAR, Radványi D, Fónagy A, Khan SA, Vassor T, Biet B, Erb M, Kárpáti Z, Robert CAM., Volatile-mediated oviposition preference for healthy over root-infested plants by the European corn borer., Plant, cell & environment, 47, (6), 2024, p2228-2239
Biru F.N., Nayak J.J., Waterman J.M., Cazzonelli C.I., Elbaum R., Johnson S.N., Elevated atmospheric CO2 and silicon antagonistically regulate anti-herbivore phytohormone and defence gene expression levels in wheat, Environmental and Experimental Botany, 227, 2024
Johnson SN, Waterman JM, Hartley SE, Cooke J, Ryalls JMW, Lagisz M, Nakagawa S., Plant Silicon Defences Suppress Herbivore Performance, but Mode of Feeding Is Key., Ecology letters, 27, (10), 2024, pe14519
Wang L, Jäggi S, Cofer TM, Waterman JM, Walthert M, Glauser G, Erb M., Immature leaves are the dominant volatile-sensing organs of maize., Current biology : CB, 33, (17), 2023, p3679-3689.e3
Escobar-Bravo R., Lin P.-A., Waterman J.M., Erb M., Dynamic environmental interactions shaped by vegetative plant volatiles, Natural Product Reports, 40, (4), 2023, p840 - 865, p840-865
Johnson SN, Cibils-Stewart X, Waterman JM, Biru FN, Rowe RC, Hartley SE., Elevated atmospheric CO2 changes defence allocation in wheat but herbivore resistance persists., Proceedings. Biological sciences, 289, (1969), 2022, p20212536
Putra R., Waterman J.M., Mathesius U., Wojtalewicz D., Powell J.R., Hartley S.E., Johnson S.N., Benefits of silicon-enhanced root nodulation in a model legume are contingent upon rhizobial efficacy, Plant and Soil, 477, (1-2), 2022, p201 - 217, p201-217
Waterman JM, Cibils-Stewart X, Cazzonelli CI, Hartley SE, Johnson SN., Short-term exposure to silicon rapidly enhances plant resistance to herbivory., Ecology, 102, (9), 2021, pe03438
Waterman J.M., Hall C.R., Mikhael M., Cazzonelli C.I., Hartley S.E., Johnson S.N., Short-term resistance that persists: Rapidly induced silicon anti-herbivore defence affects carbon-based plant defences, Functional Ecology, 35, (1), 2021, p82 - 92, p82-92
Johnson S.N., Waterman J.M., Wuhrer R., Rowe R.C., Hall C.R., Cibils-Stewart X., Siliceous and non-nutritious: Nitrogen limitation increases anti-herbivore silicon defences in a model grass, Journal of Ecology, 109, (11), 2021, p3767 - 3778, p3767-3778
Hall CR, Dagg V, Waterman JM, Johnson SN., Silicon Alters Leaf Surface Morphology and Suppresses Insect Herbivory in a Model Grass Species., Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 9, (5), 2020, pE643
Waterman J.M., D'Amato A.W., Foster D.R., Orwig D.A., Pederson N., Historic forest composition and structure across an old-growth landscape in New Hampshire, USA, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 147, (4), 2020, p291 - 303, p291-303
Johnson SN, Waterman JM, Hall CR., Increased insect herbivore performance under elevated CO2 is associated with lower plant defence signalling and minimal declines in nutritional quality., Scientific reports, 10, (1), 2020, p14553
Waterman J.M., Mann T.J., Cazzonelli C.I., Hartley S.E., Johnson S.N., Microbes in Helicoverpa armigera oral secretions contribute to increased senescence around plant wounds, Ecological Entomology, 45, (5), 2020, p1224 - 1229, p1224-1229
Hall CR, Waterman JM, Vandegeer RK, Hartley SE, Johnson SN., The Role of Silicon in Antiherbivore Phytohormonal Signalling., Frontiers in plant science, 10, 2019, p1132
Waterman JM, Cazzonelli CI, Hartley SE, Johnson SN., Simulated Herbivory: The Key to Disentangling Plant Defence Responses., Trends in ecology & evolution, 34, (5), 2019, p447-458
Recognition
Representations
Reviewer for multiple scientific journals across disciplines (Annals of Botany, Austral Entomology, Basic and Applied Ecology, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Chemoecology, Ecology, Functional Ecology, Insect Conservation and Diversity, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Pest Science, Plant-arthropod interactions, Plant Physiology, PLoS One)
Awards and Honours
Swiss National Science Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Memberships
British Ecological Society
International Society of Chemical Ecology