David Williams
d.williams@zoo.cam.ac.uk
Tel:
+44 (0)1223 769018
Research Interests
I am interested in the challenges of conserving biodiversity in the face of a growing global population and ever-increasing per capita consumption. Human consumption is only going to grow in the next few decades and that conservationists and policy makers need to make plans to cope with this increasing demand. For my PhD, under the supervision of Andrew Balmford I will investigate the balance between food production, biodiversity and ecosystem services in pastoral systems in Yucatan, Mexico, and ask whether projected demands for beef and other products are best met through a relatively small area of intensive farmland, or larger areas of less intensive production. I will be working with Dr. Francisco Galindo and colleagues at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and our findings will hopefully feed into agricultural and conservation policy in Mexico.
My previous work has focused on ensuring that conservation actions are based on the best possible evidence and reducing the gap between research and practice. Before starting my PhD I worked with Bill Sutherland on ConservationEvidence, a project that disseminates peer-reviewed literature through the website www.conservationevidence.com, an open-access journal and Synopses that describe the evidence for the effects of particular sets of conservation interventions.
I am also interested in long-term ecology and the historical impacts of humans, for example, the debate on the causes of the Quaternary megafaunal extinctions and historical declines in fisheries.
Publications
Prescott, G.W.*, Williams, D.R.*, Balmford, A., Green, R.E., Manica, A. (2012) Quantitative global analysis of the role of climate and people in explaining late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions. PNAS early edition
Williams, D.R., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Dicks, L.V., Child, M.F., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J., Sutherland, W.J. (in prep.) Bird Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions, Pelagic Publishing (Exeter)
