This page lists keynote speakers at the ialeUK 2009 Conference, 'Ecological Networks: Science and Practice’, to be held between 1st – 3rd September 2009, in Edinburgh.
Prof Santiago Saura
Prof Santiago Saura is currently an associate professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He also holds a post at the University of Lleida, where he coordinates the Landscape Planning, Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Research Group and is an affiliate researcher at the Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia. His main research interests are quantitative methods in landscape ecology, landscape connectivity, forest biodiversity indicators, scale analysis, forest inventory and forest planning. Most recently he has focused on the development of improved approaches and quantitative tools for the analysis of landscape connectivity which has resulted in the Conefor Sensinode application (version 2.2 is freely available for download from www.conefor.udl.es). For further information on this speaker please see: http://www.udl.es/usuaris/saura
Dr Phil Watts
Dr Phill Watts is a lecturer at the University of Liverpool, where he is a member of “conservation biology” and “marine and freshwater systems” research groups. His research group employs contemporary genomic technology to determine the spatio-temporal dynamics of key life-history parameters on a variety of endangered and microbial species, and to assess the impact of the landscape structure on spatial genetics and adaptive divergence. He has also used molecular-genetic methods to address applied problems, such as the definition of conservation areas, identification of the sources of biological invasions as well as exploring the effect of anthropogenic change on dispersal capability and genetic diversity. Further information about his current research projects and publications can be found at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/bio/people/academic/watts_p
Dr Rob Jongman
Dr Rob Jongman is a landscape ecologist with experience in river ecology, nature conservation planning and environmental monitoring. His doctoral research was on ecology, planning and policy in river systems. This subsequently led him to work on major projects in South America where he modelled river landscapes and water processes. He has published two textbooks on multivariate analysis and ecological networks. Since 1990 he has been closely involved with the development of the Pan-European Ecological Network through a secondment to the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC) and other associated work. His current research interests include the application of academic ecological knowledge to ‘real-world’ problems and the interaction between science and practice.
Duncan Stone
Duncan Stone is a senior scientific advisor to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) with extensive applied experience in woodland ecology. After completing his degree in Forestry at Aberdeen University and working for a commercial forestry company in the Borders and Aberdeenshire he joined Scottish Natural Heritage as an adviser on conservation issues in agriculture, crofting, forestry and deer management. He now leads a team of SNH advisers covering similar issues. During the last six years he has led on the development and application of landscape ecology principles in woodland management which has involved a close collaboration with Forest Research. He is interested in a number of other areas that include the impact of deer on semi-natural vegetation, land use policy development and climate change adaptation.
Dr Paula Harrison
Dr Paula Harrison is a Senior Research Fellow within the Terrestrial Ecology Group of the Environmental Change Institute at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment where she has worked since 1991. She has worked on the application of mathematical models to analyse climate change impacts and adaptation options for biodiversity and ecosystems in both Britain and Europe. Her current research interests include the development and testing of robust analytical frameworks for quantifying links between biodiversity and ecosystem service provision, assessing the ecological resilience of service-providing populations to drivers of change, and conservation planning for ecosystem services. She is the co-ordinator of the European Commission RUBICODE project (2006-2009) which is investigating the effects of various drivers of change on the provision of ecosystem services through a series of review exercises and stakeholder workshops.