Dr Silviu Petrovan
- Assistant Research Professor
Contact
Location
- Room 3.01 David Attenborough Building
About
• 2016–present: Assistant Research Professor (Research Associate 2016-2021) - Conservation Evidence at the Conservation Science Group. Dept. Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (UK). Editor of What Works in Conservation.
Since May 2024 I am also the (part-time) Conservation Research Manager at People's Trust for Endangered Species. Working on strategy, conservation planning, research oversight and conservation delivery in the UK and internationally.
Current PhD students- Ashley Simkins (Cambridge University) and Nina Baranduin (Cambridge University). Former PhD students: Thomas White (Cambridge University, graduated 2023), Lauren Moore (Nottingham Trent University, graduated 2023) and Catia Matos (University of Hull, graduated 2017).
• 2011–2016: Head of Conservation at Froglife Trust UK- overseeing as part of senior management the strategic conservation planning, funding and implementation, coordinating conservation staff between Froglife offices in London, Peterborough, Sheffield and Glasgow. Overseeing conservation research and delivery.
• 2011-2018 Honorary Research Associate University of Hull (UK), Faculty of Science
• 2011 (Jan-Nov): Postdoctoral Research Associate, working with Dr. Phil Wheeler on impact of biomass energy crops on farmland biodiversity, University of Hull (UK)- funded by People's Trust for Endangered Species.
• 2011: PhD Animal Ecology. University of Hull & Food and Environment Research Agency (UK). PhD thesis: Landscape ecology of brown hares and European rabbits in grassland areas in north-east England
• 2007: MSc Taxonomy and Biodiversity Conservation. University of Bucharest, (Romania)
• 2003: BSc Veterinary Medicine. University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, (Romania)
Research
Key publications
• Petrovan, S. O., Moor, H., & Schmidt, B. R. (2025). Increasingly uncommon common toads: multidecadal, ongoing abundance decline of a widespread amphibian despite volunteer conservation action. Biodiversity and Conservation, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03150-6
• Simkins, A. T., Sutherland, W. J., Dicks, L. V., Hilton-Taylor, C., Grace, M. K., Butchart, S. H., ... & Petrovan, S. O. (2025). Past conservation efforts reveal which actions lead to positive outcomes for species. PLoS Biology, 23(3), e3003051.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003051
• Hinsley, A., Hughes, A. C., van Valkenburg, J., Stark, T., van Delft, J., Sutherland, W., & Petrovan, S. O. (2025). Understanding the environmental and social risks from the international trade in ornamental plants. BioScience, biae124. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae124
• Häkkinen, H., Taylor, N. G., Pettorelli, N., Sutherland, W. J., Aldará, J., Anker‐Nilssen, T., ... & Petrovan, S. (2023). Co‐developing guidance for conservation: An example for seabirds in the North‐East Atlantic in the face of climate change impacts. Conservation Science and Practice, e12985. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12985
• Moore, L. J., Petrovan, S. O., Bates, A. J., Hicks, H. L., Baker, P. J., Perkins, S. E., & Yarnell, R. W. (2023). Demographic effects of road mortality on mammalian populations: a systematic review. Biological Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12942
• White, T., Petrovan, S., Christie, A., Martin, P., & Sutherland, W. (2022). What is the price of conservation; a review of the status quo and recommendations for improving cost reporting. BioScience 72 (5), 461-471 https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac007
• Petrovan SO, Aldridge DC, Bartlett H, Bladon AJ, Booth H, Broad S, ... & Sutherland WJ (2021). Post COVID‐19: a solution scan of options for preventing future zoonotic epidemics. Biological Reviews https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12774
• Junker, J., S. O. Petrovan, V. Arroyo-Rodríguez, R. Boonratana, D. Byler, C. A. Chapman, D. Chetry et al. (2020) "Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World’s Primates." Bioscience. 10.1093/biosci/biaa082
• Petrovan, S. O., & Schmidt, B. R. (2019). Neglected juveniles; a call for integrating all amphibian life stages in assessments of mitigation success (and how to do it). Biological Conservation, 236, 252-260.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.023
• Lawson, B, Petrovan SO & Cunningham A.A (2015) Citizen science and wildlife disease surveillance Ecohealth, 12, 693-702. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10393-015-1054-z
I am broadly interested in understanding the effects of anthropogenic changes on biodiversity and improving evidence-based solutions for counteracting negative effects at population or landscape scale. My main areas of work have been on:
(1) road impacts (mortality, fragmentation, isolation, pollution) and evidence-based mitigation solutions for amphibians and small and medium-sized mammals such as hedgehogs. This includes movement patterns and using road-based surveys for large-scale monitoring.
(2) harnessing the power of citizen science and other large biological record datasets for biodiversity monitoring, including for emerging wildlife diseases, global wildlife trade and invasive species.
(3) how landscape management and conservation efforts shape species persistence, distribution and abundance including for lagomorphs.
My current work at Conservation Evidence includes running the international expert assessments of evidence as well as editing the annual What Works In Conservation volume. I also contribute as an author to various elements of evidence synthesis and evidence based guidance.
Some of my research work has been featured widely in the media:
Common toad is becoming uncommon in UK, study shows | Wildlife | The Guardian
Wildlife stowaways hitchhike on ornamental plants - The Wildlife Society
Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants - BBC News
Toads: Amphibians surprise biologists by climbing trees | New Scientist
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/conservation-costs-are-rarely-reported-making-it-difficult-to-prioritize-funding/
https://phys.org/news/2020-06-human-interactions-wild-farmed-animals.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39857697
