Ecology and Conservation

The Ecology and Conservation group at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus focuses on how individual behaviour ultimately drives population level processes and how we can use our understanding of behaviour and ecology to inform conservation efforts. What are the carry-over effects of migration? What limits species distributions? What regulates populations? What processes structure communities and drive patterns of colonization and extinction? Directed conservation research is carried out on the most pressing issues including: interactions between wildlife, fisheries and agriculture; emerging infectious disease; invasive species; over-harvesting; and the impacts of climate change and mitigation measures such as renewable energy generation. We take a multifaceted approach, combining field, laboratory, and modeling studies, carried out globally in many ecosystems ranging from farmland to coral reefs, and focused on a range of taxa including plants, insects, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Research funding

Substantial research funding is present in the group from: