Abhilash is interested in restoring marginal and degraded land. His work aims to restore ecosystem services and to derive additional benefits from degraded ecosystems (i.e biomass, soil carbon sequestration etc) to support a bio based economy. Other areas of focus include land health management, sustainable utilization of agrobiodiversity, nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based adaptations for climate-resilience, planet healthy food production, sustainable agriscape management, and nutritional security.

Alistair is interested in the role of humans in determining changes in species biodiversity and distributions over time. In particular, he wants to know how changes in landscape and climate during the past century have shaped the patterns of biodiversity that we see today. Using historical and present-day environmental data and species observations, he looks at the changes in biodiversity that have already happened in response to environmental change, with the hope that that knowledge can be used to conserve biodiversity now and in the future.

Peter is a landscape and conservation ecologist. The main focus of his work lies in the field of ecology with conservation biological oriented research, such as biological effectiveness of agri-environment schemes, habitat fragmentation, urbanization and edge effect on a wide range of terrestrial taxa and ecosystem functions and services. For this, he performs primary field studies and meta-analyses.

Ainara’s research aims to address questions in ecology, animal behavior and conservation biology. With a focus on these within the context of global and climate changes, she does this by merging concepts (e.g. rewilding, pulsed trophic resources, randomness) and methods (e.g. long-term monitoring, IBM, isotopes, telemetry, socio-economics, socio-ecological protocols, pathogens, contaminants) – all based on a solid first-hand knowledge of the species and ecosystems studied. She integrates large-scale scenarios with the detailed natural history of species, after 20 years of research training.

Maxime’s research has been centered on plant-insect interactions in several contexts. He has worked on tree diversity effects on herbivore pests, flower diversity effects on parasitoids behavior and physiology, and the benefit of flower diversity under the natural conditions for pest biological control in cereal crops. His current work is focused on landscape and management effects on flea beetle populations across the Canadian prairies. Follow Maxime on Twitter: @DamienMaxime1

Thibault is freshwater scientist at Inrae, leading the EcoFlowS lab, in Lyon, France. His research focuses on the ecohydrology of rivers and hyporheic zones, with particular emphasis on intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams. He is passionate about understanding the effects of natural and anthropogenic changes on community and ecosystem processes at multiple scales and translating it into tools and guidelines for water managers. Follow Thibault on Twitter: @tdatry

Filipe is an applied ecologist working at the interface of conservation biology and community ecology. He is particularly interested in understanding how local human activities (e.g. deforestation, selective logging and wildfires) and climate-related stressors (e.g. droughts, floods, heatwaves, etc) affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Much of his research has focused on tropical forests and the environmental factors driving invertebrate communities and ecological processes. Follow Filipe on Twitter: @FilipeEco

Elisa is an applied ecologist and conservation biologist investigating how anthropogenic change impacts biological communities. Her research focuses on finding effective ways to restore biodiversity (and associated ecosystem functions and services) in human-modified landscapes. To do this, she studies both the causes of biodiversity loss (e.g. habitat degradation) and the potential solutions (e.g. habitat restoration and implementation of agri-environment schemes) to reverse biodiversity declines. She has expertise in animal ecology, woodland ecology, restoration ecology and landscape ecology. Follow Elisa on Twitter: @EFuenMont

Lessando is an applied insect ecologist whose research interests revolve around the realm of biological control. He is particularly keen to investigate the ecological mechanisms that drive conservation biological control of pests in diversified cropping systems as well as examine the potential for integrating conservation and augmentative/classical biological control programs. Additionally, his research also concerns the impact of pesticides on natural enemies of agricultural pests. In short, he expects his research to provide a mechanistic basis for enhancing field biological control

Abishek is a conservation biologist with interests in population ecology, spatial prioritization and conservation decision- making. Specifically, he is interested in reconciling the objectives of large carnivore conservation which requires vast, undisturbed habitats with the needs of communities in human-dominated landscapes. He is also interested in evaluating the effectiveness and impacts of conservation actions such as the creation of protected areas, coexistence with wildlife, compensation to alleviate conflicts, and law-enforcement in securing our biodiversity. Follow Abishek on Twitter: @AbiHarihar

Bila-Isia’s research looks at how biological systems interact between themselves and with human populations, how humans shape the distribution of wildlife populations, and the responses of species to disturbance caused by human activities. The focus is to identify mechanisms to preserve the stability of biological components within tropical forest ecosystems and how sustainability can be optimally achieved without jeopardizing biodiversity. As such, possible pathways to sustainability of both development and biodiversity are searched in different natural resource management schemes. Follow Bila Isia on Twitter: @Inogwabini

Urs is interested in understanding and predicting the effect of land use on biodiversity patterns and species interations in a spatial context. He combines experiments, observational data and statistical modeling to test how human actions affect the way that organisms move through landscapes and the ecological consequences thereof, particularly in farmland and forest ecosystems. Urs is particularly interested in avian movement and dispersal, landscape change effects on pollinator and frugivore communities and how this translates into ecosystem functions, and applied statistics.

Lori is a community ecologist with interests in how human-induced environmental changes, such as biological invasions, pesticide application, drought, and restoration, affect interactions among species. She has particular interests in social insect ecology, interactions among plants and insects, and the effects of changed community dynamics on ecosystem processes. Research in her lab group explores these themes through a combination of laboratory and field-based experiments. Follow Lori on Twitter: @Lori_Lach

Alexandro’s main research topics are natural disturbances –chiefly wildfire– and plant regeneration. Through empirical studies and meta-analyses, he has explored ecosystem regeneration after wildfire, the effects of post-fire management, and the biotic and abiotic processes affecting post-fire regeneration. He is currently studying the performance of oaks along environmental gradients, combining demographic, morphological and physiological data in greenhouse and field experiments to gain insights on the drivers of plant abiotic stress. He is also interested in seed dispersal and predation.

Dejun’s research focuses on (1) how ecosystem structure, functions and processes respond to ecological restoration or succession, (2) how global change impacts ecosystem structure, functions and processes, and (3) how agroecosystem management affects soil functions and processes. His research is conducted in temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic zones with ecological, molecular and isotopic techniques.

Yanjie’s research focuses on plant ecology, using greenhouse and field experiments, and database work to test relating hypotheses and quantify the processes at different spatial and temporal scales. He also has a particular interest in biological invasions and global change biology

Patricia has major experience in ecology, conservation and management of vertebrate scavengers in human-dominated ecosystems. Most of her research to date has dealt with the relationship between human activities (e.g livestock farming and hunting) and large vertebrates (from vultures to large carnivores). She works mainly within the disciplines of applied ecology and conservation biology, trying to provide practical solutions for wildlife management, including human dimensions such as stakeholder’s perceptions and attitudes and how to strengthen the environmental rule of law.

Mariana is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning biodiversity and the functioning of marine ecosystems. In particular, she is interested in how anthropogenic stressors, such as contamination and urbanisation, affect the marine environment with the ultimate goal of developing evidence-based solutions for not only mitigating their impacts, but also restoring and rehabilitating marine ecosystems. Follow Mariana on Twitter: @CariocaMayer

Miriam’s research focuses on the ecology, conservation, and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, she is interested in understanding how global environmental changes such as drought, intense fire and land degradation influence plant-soil interactions and the overall structure and functioning of dryland and temperate ecosystems. She combines ecophysiological, biogeochemical and molecular techniques with experimental and modelling approaches to develop novel methodologies that enhance large-scale ecosystem restoration outcomes. Follow Miriam on Twitter: @MiriMunozRojas

Mduduzi is an animal ecologist, intrigued by a wide range of theoretical and practical issues in ecology and conservation. He applies the “animal habitat tracking adaptation” theoretical framework to understand individual and population level decisions and how these relate to life history strategies, disease risk, habitat structure and environmental variability. His work aims to unravel how Afro-tropical species interrelate to solve the problem of survival within the context of a changing environment. Follow Mduduzi on Twitter: @DrMduNdlovu

Erik’s research focuses on the consequences of land use and climate change on populations and communities, and on strategies to maintain and restore biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes. His research includes both basic and applied aspects of ecology. Much of Erik’s research to date has been on insects, particularly butterflies and pollinating insects, as study organisms, but he is also doing research on plant communities and plant-pollinator interactions. He is also conducting research syntheses that include a wide range of organisms. Follow Erik on Twitter: @EOckinger

Maria Fernanda is a chemical ecologist interested in understanding the intricacies of plant-arthropod interactions mediated by chemicals signals. Her work addresses ecological questions that have applied relevance to support a more sustainable agriculture. She is particularly interested in studying how herbivory, vector-borne diseases and association with beneficial microorganisms can shape subsequent chemical-mediated interactions among plants and arthropods of different trophic levels. She also studies potential priming agents or elicitors to enhance plant resistance against insects.

Lan Qie is a senior lecturer in ecology and conservation at University of Lincoln, UK, having previously held research positions at Imperial College and University of Leeds. Much of her work has taken place in Southeast Asia, especially Borneo, with research interests encompassing forest carbon stock and global change, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and conservation. Her recent work focuses on ecosystem resilience in the tropics as well as nature recovery in the UK.

Orly is a molecular and landscape ecologist with expertise in global change research. Recent projects have focused on ecological and evolutionary responses to global environmental changes, and understanding how environmental heterogeneity at different spatial and temporal scales affects geographic distribution, genetic composition and ecological interactions. Orly carries out interdisciplinary research, combining genomic tools with ecological research and modelling approaches. With a focus on mammals, and bats in particular, their research is applied in nature, providing the evidence base for managing our environment. Follow Orly on Twitter here: @Orly Razgour

Leonard is an applied freshwater ecologist and his research interests include drivers for local and regional biodiversity, functioning of ecological (river) networks, relationship between ecosystem structure and function, scale related issues in freshwater ecology, and the effects of hydrological and morphological factors on freshwater organisms. Recent projects have focused on climate change effects on freshwater restoration measures, multiple pressure effects on riverine ecosystems, and effects of restoration measures on freshwater organisms.

Paulo holds a PhD in Environment Sanitation and Water Resources from Federal University of Minas Gerais (2005). Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Conservation at the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. His main research interests include fish ecology and migration, river restoration, and impacts of power plants. He is also involved in projects related to the effects of different land uses on the fish fauna in the Amazon and Southeast Brazil regions, and on the evaluation of the possible first dam removal in Brazil.

Isabel is an Ecology professor at the University of Brasília, located in the middle of the Brazilian savanna. Before becoming a professor, she worked in the Brazilian Environmental Agency (Ibama) and her PhD (at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, USA), focused on the ecology, local ecological knowledge and fire management associated with a native species harvested for handicrafts. Her main interests are the management and sustainable use of tropical plants and landscapes and linking ecological research to public policy and management regulations.

Ricardo’s research aims to understand major causes and consequences of biodiversity dynamics in natural and human-modified habitats. He is interested in investigating biodiversity dynamics and functioning over multiple spatial scales and has been working on the effects of global change drivers on tropical biotas. While he doesn’t have a preference for any specific taxon, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, birds and trees are the groups he most often works with. Follow Ricardo on Twitter: @bob_solar

Chris is an applied ecologist with a focus on spatial population ecology. He is particularly interested in understanding how spatial processes such as movement, dispersal and connectivity, influence the dynamics of spatially structured populations. Most of his research involves the development and application of spatially realistic hierarchical models for observations of individuals, (meta)populations and communities. Follow Chris on Twitter: @Chrissuthy

Marion is interested in interspecific interactions (predator-prey interactions, predator intraguild interactions, elephants-other mammals interactions, scavenging), their role in the functioning of animal communities, and the consequences of human activities and global changes on these interactions. Her research, at the interface between individual behaviour and community ecology, focuses on habitat selection and foraging strategies of large mammalian carnivores and herbivores. Her work is mainly empirical (based on behavioural observations and GPS data) and anchored in African savannas.

Lizzie is a Lecturer in Global Change Biology at the University of York, UK. She is a plant community ecologist with a particular interest in the causes and consequences of species loss and biological invasions, as well as gaining a more general understanding of the factors that control the distribution of plant species. Most of her research focuses on interactions among species, especially between plants and their mutualists. Follow Lizzie on Twitter: @LizzieWandrag

Ben’s principal research interests revolve around reconciling intensive agricultural management with the maintenance and enhancement of native biodiversity and the ecosystem services that they provide with an emphasis on natural pest control and pollination. While a lot of his work is of an applied conservation nature, linked to the development of agri-environment schemes (the UK policy mechanism for extensifying agricultural management), he is interested in the fundamental mechanisms that underpinning community ecology in these systems. This has included community restoration and re-creation.

Yi is an ecologist and entomologist studying conservation biology, landscape ecology and ecosystem services in agricultural and forest ecosystems. He is particularly interested in how changing landscapes affect arthropod diversity, pollination and biological pest control services. His research interests also include how to effectively measure biodiversity at different dimensions by model simulation and empirical studies.