Ecology and Conservation
Population dynamics and management
Ecology and Evolution Research Group (EERG) has a range of active research projects designed to solve real-world problems in species management and conservation.
Our work within the UK, in collaboration with industry partners, involves exploring the impacts of wind farms on seabird movement. By mounting GPS trackers on birds, EERG researchers are testing for changes in behaviours around turbines that might have negative consequences on already declining species. Internationally, EERG is working to conserve the Caspian seal within a highly contested part of the world where climate change, pollution, and fisheries are contributing to ecological problems. In addition to the conservation of species, EERG work also uses innovative approaches for the study of problem species. Through extensive experimental work on pests that cause damage to stored food, we are not only generating practical guidance for the management of those pests but also testing key hypotheses about the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions.
A second approach to problem species involves understanding the impacts of invasive non-native species and attempting to stop their spread. This work combines biological research on the impacts of invasive species on ecosystem structure and function with novel methods from the social sciences which seek to understand and reduce behaviours that risk the spread of invasives. These integrated projects are taking place with a range of industrial and policy-focused collaborators to ensure that the work is solving real problems by providing practical solutions.
Key researchers
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Name |
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Dr Maria Beger |
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Professor Tim Benton |
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Professor Alison Dunn |
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Dr Simon Goodman |
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Dr Christopher Hassall |
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Professor Bill Kunin |
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Dr Rupert Quinnell |
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Dr Cassandra Raby |
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Dr Josie South |
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Dr Lochran Traill |
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Professor Peter Urwin |
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Dr Alastair Ward |
Research Projects
o Understanding environmental change in the lab - Understanding how environmental variation affects individuals within a species, changes their population size and interactions between species is the bedrock of ecology. Steve Sait is conducting novel research on how different rates of change (rapid or “blue”, random or “white", slow or “red”) in temperature and food quality alter the relationship between an insect and a parasitic wasp in lab experiments.