As a postdoctoral researcher she constructed the first food webs in tropical ecosystems, looking at plants, leaf-miners, and parasitoids,[2] working with Charles Godfray.
In this project, Memmott and her team sample insect pollinators in 1 km long transects in urban areas.
Her research has shown that there are significant gaps seasonally in resources for pollinators from plants, such as pollen and nectar, in early spring and late summer; this knowledge could be used to alter the species mix of wildflower strips as part of agri-environment schemes.
[14] In 2018 she gave the Sir John Burnett Memorial Lecture at the National Biodiversity Network annual conference.
[17] Memmott was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to insect pollinators and ecology.