Department of Zoology

Principal Investigators

Research area - Ecology and Conservation Science

My research focuses on biodiversity and habitat conservation in Africa, where I am interested in biological survey of poorly known forests, on biodiveristy pattern and priorities, on ecosystem services valuees and conserving their benefits for people, on developing comprehensive and well managed networks of protected areas that provide tangible benefits for people, and on the development of locally-owned and implemented conservation plans. Much of my work has been in East Africa, where I have lived for a number of years while working for NGOs, Government Agencies and their development partners. I try and blend conservation science and its theory with practical conservation of the ground being implemented by different agencies, and provide advice to the WWF network, The Govenment of Tanzania, UNEP-WCMC, UNDP-GEF, and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.

Research group - Conservation Science Group

Selected publications

• Burgess, N.D., A. Balmford, J. Fjeldså, W. Küper, H. Sömmer, C. Rahbek, E. Sanderson, P.H. Williams. (2007). Relationships between biodiversity value, human density and human infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa. Biological Conservation 134: 164-177.

• Burgess, N.D., Butynski, T.M., Cordeiro, N.J., Doggart, N., Fjeldså, J., Howell, K., Kilahama, F., Loader, S.P., Lovett, J.C., Mbilinyi, B., Menegon, M., Moyer, D., Nashanda, E., Perkin, A., Stanley, W., Stuart, S., (2007). The biological importance of the Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. Biological Conservation 134: 209-231.
• Burgess, N.D., J. D’Amico Hales, T. Ricketts and E. Dinerstein (2006). Factoring species, non-species values and threats into biodiversity priority-setting across the ecoregions of Africa and its islands. Biological Conservation 127: 383-401.
• Burgess, N.D., D’Amico Hales, J., Underwood, E., Dinerstein, E., Olson, D., Itoua, I., Schipper, J., Ricketts, T., Newman, K. (2004). Terrestrial ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: a continental assessment. Island Press, Washington DC. Pp. 501.
• Burgess, N.D. & Clarke, G.P. (eds.) (2000). The Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa. IUCN Forest Conservation Programme, Gland and Cambridge. pp.1-435.
• Bibby, C.J., Burgess, N.D., Hill, D.A. and Mustoe, S. (2000). Bird Census Techniques, second edition. Academic Press, London. 325 pp.
• Thieme, M.L., Abell, R.A., Stiassny, M.L.J., Skelton, P. H., Lehner, B., Teugels, G.G., Dinerstein, E., Kamdem-Toham, A., Burgess, N., and Olson, D.M., editors. (2005). Freshwater ecoregions of Africa: A conservation assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC, USA. pp.431.