Professional summary
Nick is interested in how biodiversity is distributed in space, how it is changing over time, and how we measure it. He leads a research team in the Biodiversity Science Area, and they use theory and statistical models to address applied questions about the natural environment.
His research is in three broad areas.
Quantitative methods for biodiversity science:
Nick develops and tests methods for assessing biodiversity change from monitoring data. He describes biases in biodiversity datasets and build methods capable of mitigating them. He works with hierarchical Bayesian models for individual species, including occupancy-detection models and integrated distribution models, as well as for multispecies indicators.
Understanding biodiversity change:
Nick quantifies long-term trends in biodiversity and tests hypotheses about the drivers of change. Increasingly he uses these models to make biodiversity projections under scenarios of future change. He is Principal Investigator of the NERC-funded GLiTRS (Global Insect Threat-Response Synthesis) consortium, which aims to create a global view on the status of insect populations.
Evidence for Policy:
He works in partnership with government agencies to develop biodiversity indicators and targets and to improve the evidence base provided by the biodiversity monitoring portfolio.