Freshwater conservation biologist and member of the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group. My Inspire4Nature project aims to strengthen understanding and application of the IUCN Red list Index (RLI) as a policy-relevant indicator of progress towards international biodiversity commitments, in particular leading to new recommendations at the national level. It will first involve a comprehensive Red List reassessment of all European freshwater fish species, followed by calculation of the first RLI for all European vertebrates plus analysis of how the index varies in its robustness when downscaled from global to national and regional levels, and how its power to detect change is influenced by the taxonomic groups, number and types of species included. I previously studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (BSc Environmental Sciences) and the University of Barcelona, Spain (MSc Biodiversity).

So long, and thanks for all the fish?

September 1, 2019
© Wikimedia Commons THEIR habitats are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. And despite their critical value as a source of food and employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide, it is likely that many freshwater fish species have already disappeared without record. Freshwaters cover just 0.8% of the Earth’s surface and hold 0.01% of its water yet they harbour astonishing biodiversity, with around 16,000 described resident or migratory fishes accounting for roughly half the global total and 25% of all vertebrates. They provide ...
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Scientists map Sri Lankan elephants for first time

February 22, 2019
TRUNK AND DISORDERLY: Sri Lankan elephants often come into conflict with humans. © Wikimedia Scientists in Sri Lanka have produced the first-ever evidence-based distribution map for Asian elephants. The researchers carried out interview surveys across the country and found that the charismatic mammals occur over around 60 per cent of the island nation, a much higher proportion than elsewhere in its 13-country range. Earlier distribution models either covered smaller areas within individual countries, or were based on “guesswork and conjecture”, according to the authors of the ...
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Un-bee-lievable! World’s biggest bee rediscovered in Indonesia

February 22, 2019
STING IN THE TALE: Wallace's giant bee has been dubbed 'the flying bulldog'. © Clay Bolt It was feared extinct for almost four decades. But a team of North American and Australian biologists has filmed Wallace’s giant bee (Megachile pluto) alive on a remote island in Indonesia. First discovered in 1859 by renowned English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, the thumb-sized species had not been seen since 1981, when American entomologist Adam Messer found it on three islands in the North Mollucas archipelago. And after a report of two individuals ...
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