Environmental Science, Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation

Understanding how organisms respond to changes in the environment is critical to both interpreting trends in biodiversity and managing impacts on the environment to achieve sustainability. In this theme we seek to assess the drivers of biodiversity change and provide cost-effective solutions to reduce the impacts of human activities. Genomics plays an important role in this.

Our work spans long-term and large-scale studies of a variety of biota, together with experimental manipulations at a range of scales from river catchment to laboratory. This theme has attracted research funding into a range of studies of societal relevance, including development of indicators of biodiversity change, assessment of the consequences of climate change, the management of agriculture, abandoned metal mines, invasive species and microplastics. In addition to answering fundamental research questions, our work is integrated with the development of policy and management tools, including strong interactions with Defra and the devolved Governments, their respective environmental agencies, Europe and the United Nations.

Understanding how to reduce the impact of agriculture at a catchment scale