Professor William J Sutherland
Miriam Rothschild Chair in Conservation Biology
Funded by Arcadia
w.sutherland@zoo.cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 336686
Research Interests
I have wide research interests. They encompass four broad areas.
My research career has largely been devoted to building population models based on the behaviour of individuals and then using these to answer a wide range of applied questions, such as the impact of GM crops, climate change, human disturbance or agricultural change. I am interested in a wide range of applied conservation issues, especially those involving birds.
I believe that we need a revolution in conservation practice equivalent to the revolution in evidence caused by the development of evidence-based conservation. I am keen to research how evidence is used in conservation practice. I am also interested in projects that tests and collates the evidence relating to a broad issue in conservation biology. We are interested in collaborations that incorporate evidence-based conservation.
The purpose of conservation science is to be useful by means of aiding policy and practice. I am very interested in researching the interface between science and policy and in exploring means of collaborating with policy makers. This has included identifying the questions of greatest interest to UK (Sutherland et al., 2006) and global policy makers (Sutherland et al., 2010) and identifying the future issues facing the UK environment (Sutherland et al., 2008).
Studentships
I welcome PhD students who either find their own grants or who apply for grants within the department. Places are highly competitive.
Collaboration
The Cambridge Conservation Initiative is an exciting collaboration between university academics and various conservation organisations based nearby. We are currently collaborating with policy makers, policy influencers and academics to identify gaps in UK policy relating to biodiversity. We are carrying out an annual horizon scan of novel global environmental issues. We plan to act as a catalyst for global conservation. The activities include a Masters in Conservation leadership, a proposed campus providing a stimulating centre running activities of interest to global conservationists and a horizon scanning programme.
Conservation Evidence.com I strongly believe that, as a conservation community, we are nowhere near as effective as we could be due to our failure to document and collate the experience of the effectiveness of conservation interventions. This website provides over a 2,000 examples where the effectiveness of conservation interventions are quantified.
Conservation Evidence This open access online journal provides an outlet to describe the consequences of interventions. Submissions are welcome from practitioners and academics.
Conservation Letters. We established this new journal in 2008. As well as providing exciting cutting edge science we are determined to ensure that cuts across disciplines and provides science that is useful to policy makers and practitioners.
Gratis book scheme.I believe that providing books to practicing conservationists and libraries in developing countries is one of the most cost effective measures available. After discovering that the run on costs of The Conservation Handbook were the same as the royalties, I asked to be given free books instead of royalties. Over three thousand copies have been given to160 Countries. We have since given away over 5,000 books. Please contact me if you are writing a conservation or ecology text and would like 200 copies distributed globally. The British Ecological Society kindly pay for the postage and the nhbs.com bookstore kindly coordinate the distribution.
Techniques in Ecology and Conservation. This is a series of practical handbooks published by OUP. These books are given free to developing countries through the gratis book scheme. Ten are currently published and another seven are being written.
Publications
