Overview

Tropical forest and peatland ecosystems are extraordinarily rich and complex, as are the human communities that live around and interact with them. This is the beauty of these ecosystems, but also presents challenges for their sustainable management. I am driven to understand the nature of the relationship between the ecological and anthropological components of these ecosystems, and how these relationships might be improved to provide benefits for both conservation and people. An ecologist by training, I am increasingly striving to develop multi-disciplinary approaches and understanding relating to the above challenges. 

There are few places where developing such an understanding is more necessary than in Borneo, whose forests and peatland ecosystems are of immense value for reducing carbon emissions, biodiversity conservation and the numerous benefits they provide to local people, but are severely threatened by agricultural conversion, drainage, fire and wildlife harvesting. My research here is conducted in partnership with numerous Indonesian and international collaborators, and is described in more detail on the Research tab.

Qualifications

2001: BSc (Hons) Zoology, University of Wales Swansea

2009: PhD, University of Cambridge. Dissertation "Orang-utan Feeding Behaviour in Sabangau, Central Kalimantan"

Career

2020-present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter

2012-present: Research Director, Borneo Nature Foundation International

2011-present: Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of Leicester

2016-17 and 2018-19: Higher Education Coordinator, Wild Planet Trust, Newquay Zoo

2009-2012: Research Development Leader, Borneo Nature Foundation International

Links

• Borneo Nature Foundation
• Centre for Geography and Environmental Science
• Prof. Frank van Veen's group

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Research

Research interests

My goal is to better understand the complex ecological and sociological issues relating to tropical forest ecosystems and their conservation, and to use this knowledge to help develop healthier relationships with a healthier environment. The current geographic area of focus for these investigations is Borneo’s tropical forests and peatlands. In particular, I am interested in understanding spatio-temporal variations within terrestrial ecosystems, including the influence of both natural (e.g., habitat type, seasons) and anthropological (e.g., fire disturbance, replanting efforts) factors in driving these variations; understanding the complex relationships between, and reciprocal impacts of, local people and tropical terrestrial ecosystems on each other; and applying this knowledge to inform sustainable management approaches. This involves deploying and combining a variety of ecological and sociological research methods, including monitoring of long-term tree plots, assessment of forest soundscapes, interview surveys and literature reviews.

Research projects

Major areas of personal research and research supervision to date include:

• Assessing the impacts of tropical peatland revegetation efforts and developing guidelines to enhance their effectiveness (J. Appl. Ecol., Restor. Ecol.).
• Conducting multi-disciplinary reviews of major challenges and opportunities relating to tropical forest and peatland conservation on Borneo (People and Nature).
• Development of ecological monitoring systems to assess impacts of human activities in tropical forests, covering a variety of physical and biological ecosystem characteristics (Wetlands, Mires and Peat, Ecol. Entomol., Asian Myrmecol.).
• Tropical peat-swamp forest ecology and conservation, including impacts and causes of forest fire, flowering and fruiting phenology, and REDD+ benefits (GEC, Biotrop., Biologist, Trop. Cons. Sci.).
• Spatio-temporal variations in orangutan diet and energy intake, their causes, and implications for evolution, population density and conservation management (PhD thesis, J. Human Evol., PLoS One, Int. J. Primatol, Am. J. Primatol.).
• Orangutan and other South-east Asian primate behavioural ecology and conservation, including seed dispersal, locomotion and substrate use, and parasite loads (Sci. Reports, J. R. Soc. Interface, Curr. Biol., Am. J. Primatol., J. Trop. Ecol., Parasitol.).
• Wildlife trade, focusing on hunting of large flying foxes in Borneo (Biol. Cons., Oryx).
• Ecological interactions and impacts of hippotamus in Malawi (Afr. J. Ecol.).

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External Engagement and Impact

Research Director, Borneo Nature Foundation International

Associate Editor, Mires and Peat

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