The world is facing interlinked nature and climate emergencies. The conservation and restoration of resilient ecosystems have a central role to play in tackling both.
Our highly interdisciplinary research in this area brings together researchers from across the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences and the School of Ocean Sciences and from disciplines as varied as ecology, land system science, oceanography, remote sensing, physiology, behaviour, forestry, economics and policy.
We carry out cutting-edge research in a full range of terrestrial and marine habitats, from polar regions to the tropics. Our research is highly impactful. For example, our research on the impacts of bottom trawling, advancing agroforestry, and reducing the social costs of conservation in low-income countries contributed to Bangor University being ranked number one in the UK for the impact of our environmental science research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Our research facilities in this area are world-beating and include our ocean-going research vessel the Prince Madog, the Henfaes research farm, and Treborth Botanic Gardens
Featured researchers
Full researcher list
- Dr Leejiah Dorward (conservation, social sciences, human behaviour)
- Dr Harriet Ibbett (conservation, social sciences, human behaviour)
- Dr Alec Moore (historical ecology, fisheries, elasmobranchs)
- Dr Aaron Comeault (evolution, conservation genomics, invasive species)
- Professor Andy Smith (forest ecosystems, biogeochemistry, ecophysiology)
- Professor Simon Creer (molecular ecology, biodiversity)
- Dr Farnon Ellwood (ecology, biodiversity, ecosystem function)
- Dr Alexander Georgiev (primatology, conservation, ecophysiology)
- Dr James Gibbons (agriculture, greenhouse gases, biodiversity)
- Professor Robert Griffiths (microbes, soil functions, resistance mechanisms)
- Professor John Healey (ecology, forestry, conservation)
- Professor Jan Geert Hiddink (fisheries, seabed ecosystems, bottom trawling)
- Dr Neal Hockley (land, conservation, governance)
- Professor Richard Holland (animal behaviour, animal cognition, zoology)
- Professor Stuart Jenkins (marine ecology, anthropogenic impacts, ecosystem management)
- Professor Julia Patricia Gordon Jones (biodiversity conservation, impact evaluation)
- Jonathan King (marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture)
- Dr Ewa Krzyszczyk (behaviour, marine animals, conservation)
- Dr Lewis Le Vay (sustainable fisheries, marine water quality, coastal infrastructure)
- Dr Mark Mainwaring (impact of weather, nests and eggs, urbanisation)
- Dr Shelagh Malham (shellfish, marine pollution, aquaculture)
- Dr Anita Malhotra (snakes, Asia, species delimitation)
- Dr Lars Markesteijn (Tropical forest ecology, functional ecology, restoration ecology)
- Dr Ian McCarthy (behaviour, physiological ecology, conservation)
- Professor Morag McDonald (ecology, forestry, agroforestry)
- Dr Kirsty McLeod (behavioural ecology, reptiles, environmental change)
- Dr Eefke Mollee (agroforestry, food security, urban forestry)
- Dr Rosemary Moorhouse-Gann (conservation, restoration, island ecosystems)
- Dr Tim Pagella (restoration, socio-ecological systems, gender)
- Dr Sopan Patil (hydrology, climate and land use change, flood management)
- Dr Craig Robertson (benthic ecology ,deep sea, ecosystem function)
- Professor Peter Robins (estuaries, hydrodynamics, modelling)
- Dr Graeme Shannon (behaviour, ecology, conservation)
- Dr Marielle Smith (forest ecosystems, remote sensing, global change)
- Dr Freya St John (conservation, social sciences, human behaviour)
- Dr Katherine Steele (genetics, breeding, sustainability)
- Dr Alex Sutton (climate change, population ecology, community ecology)
- Dr William Teahan (artificial intelligence, data science, simulation and modelling)
- Dr Svenja Tidau (marine biology, anthropogenic impacts, sensory ecology)
- Professor George Turner (marine biology, evolution, genetics)
- Professor John Turner (marine conservation, behavioural ecology, marine protected areas)
- Dr Katrien Van Landeghem (seabed integrity, habitat suitability, glacial legacy)
- Dr Eleanor Warren-Thomas (conservation, biodiversity, agroforestry)
- Professor Simon Willcock (resilience, social-ecological systems, ecosystem services)
- Dr Gareth Williams (coral reefs, oceanography, climate change)
- Professor Wolfgang Wüster (herpetofauna, conservation genomics, venom)
- Dr Peter M. Haswell (conservation, ecology, environmental ethics)
- Dr Tyler Hallman (landscape ecology, community (citizen) science, conservation)
- Dr Winnie Courtene-Jones (plastic pollution, anthropogenic impacts, marine biology)
- Dr Benjamin Jarrett (invasive species, ecosystem services)
- Dr Rhea Burton (movement ecology, behaviour, zoo biology)
- Professor Iestyn Pierce (wireless sensing of environmental variables)
- Dr Panagiotis Ritsos (information visualization, visual analytics, mixed and virtual reality, human-computer interaction)
- Dr Tim Peters (forestry, plant microbe symbiosis, tree nursery sustainability)
- Dr Nathalie Fenner (peatlands, mangroves, algae)
- Dr Alex Papadopulos (conservation genetics, island ecology, botany)
- Dr Mark Mainwaring (impact of weather, nests and eggs, urbanisation)
- Dr Sophie Berenice Wilmes (oceanography, marine ecosystem resilience, climate change)
- Dr Elena Cini (conservation, ecology, social science)
- Dr Charlotte Colvin (marine biology, shellfish, fisheries)
- Dr Tom Galley (sustainable aquaculture, bivalve biology, reef fish)
- Charlotte Heney (marine biology, sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas)
- Dr Nick Jones (sustainable aquaculture, molluscan biology, reef fish)
- Dr Jessica Kevill (environmental virology, wastewater, public health)
- Dr Liz Morris-Webb (marine conservation and resource management, marine survey, social science)
- Dr William Schneider (behaviour, ecology, migration)
- Dr Vahid Seydi (machine learning, data science, artificial intelligence)
- Dr Morwenna Spear (forest products, sustainable wood composites, alternative timber species)
- Bex Turner (fisheries, shellfish, marine biology)
- Gemma Veneruso (marine biology, cetaceans, marine energy sector)
- Dr Sophie Ward (oceanography, climate change, ocean modelling)
- Anna Wood (forest restoration, molecular ecology, forests)
- Dr Seumas Bates (anthropology, forestry, AI)
- Dr Daisuke Goto (ecosystem-approach to fisheries, stock assessment, management strategy evaluation)
- Dr David Fidler (microbial ecology, soil, functional ecology)
- Dr Craig Shuttleworth (red squirrel conservation)
- Dr Simon Valle (conservation planning, population dynamics, conservation ecology)
- Dr Sophie Williams (plant conservation, botanic gardens, socio-ecological systems)
- Patrick Allsop (dispersal, plasticity, anthropogenic disturbance)
- Jack Atkin-Willoughby (forester, conservationist, outdoor instructor )
- Rebecca Bracegirdle (herpetology, phenotypic adaptation, diet change)
- Claire Carrington (seabirds, behaviour, meteorology)
- Penny Downes (conservation, human-wildlife interactions, behaviour)
- Ffion Evans (agriculture, circularity, policy)
- Lisa Goberdhan (marine biology, coral reef ecology, habitat ecology)
- Deanna Groom (underwater archaeology, ecosystems, climate change)
- Alice Lawrence (spatial ecology, reef fish, management)
- Ben Owens (herpetology, snake population dynamics, herpetoculture)
- Ivonne Liliana Salamanca Leon (conservation, ecology, impact evaluation)
- Saniye Smith (marine policy, co-management, fisheries)
- Marie Touchon (marine conservation, socioeconomics, mangroves)
- Catrin Williams
- Lauren Evans (behavioural ecology, molecular ecology, oceanography)
- Rose Pugh (molecular ecology, evolution, amphibians)
- Sarah Al-Jutaili (fisheries , environment, shellfish)
- Amelia Corvin-Czarnodolski (seabirds, diet, eDNA)
- Lorna McKellar (marine status assessment)
- Charlie Gregory (population genetics, bioinformatics, conservation)
- Jonathan Heath (marine, ecology, benthic)
- Ankita Bhattacharya (estuaries, flooding, groundwater)
- Abi Cousins (climate change, anthropogenic pollution, wetlands)
- Nisabhat Tonwoot (forest certification, forest management, FSC certification)
- Daisy Alston (carbon storage, subsoils carbon dynamics, agriculture)
- Patrick Allsop (anthropogenic disturbance, behavioural plasticity)
- Siyang Ren (soil environment, microplastics, source analysis)
- Iain Lettice
- Stevie Scanlan
- Lauren Sansom
- Emma Green
Key projects
Researchers in this theme work on a wide variety of applied projects.
Key projects
Researchers in this theme work on a wide variety of applied projects.
See our work as our researchers see it
A picture says a thousand words - so please enjoy the gallery of some of the examples of the work we are involved in
Postgraduate Research Project Highlights
Our cutting-edge PGR projects are driving innovation across fields by exploring transformative ideas, advancing knowledge, and offering real-world solutions.
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At Bangor research underpins the teaching that we do – you can study a wide variety of courses, at all levels, which build on the world-leading research we are doing which relates to the conservation and restoration of resilient ecosystems.
At Bangor research underpins the teaching that we do – you can study a wide variety of courses, at all levels, which build on the world-leading research we are doing which relates to the conservation and restoration of resilient ecosystems.