Our research group is dedicated to advancing evidence-based conservation science to address the challenges of global change. We focus on understanding and mitigating the impacts of habitat loss, fragmentation, and human-induced land use change on biodiversity while developing strategies to restore ecosystems and enhance their capacity to provide critical services. Our work examines the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic responses of biodiversity to habitat changes across spatial and temporal scales, explores management practices to improve the permeability of agricultural landscapes for disturbance-sensitive species, evaluates ecosystem services and disservices, and assesses conservation strategies to support evidence-based decision-making.
Grounded in ecological theory, we conduct biodiversity surveys using a wide range of methods, including point counts, mist-netting, acoustic recorders, and extensive camera trapping. We mostly focus on large-scale manipulative experiments (e.g., the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments in the Brazilian Amazon), “real-world” working landscapes, and island ecosystems. In island settings, we have a particular focus on understanding and mitigating the impacts of non-native mammals on native biodiversity.
We also integrate social science approaches to better understand socio-ecological systems and drive behavioural change. While our research primarily centres on tropical and insular ecosystems, using bats as a key model system, we also work extensively with other terrestrial vertebrates.
