William J. Sutherland

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William J. Sutherland

Bill Sutherland.png
Born (1956-04-27) 27 April 1956 (age 67)
Alma mater University of East Anglia (BSc); Liverpool Polytechnic (PhD)
Known forPresident of the British Ecological Society; Creator of ConservationEvidence.com
SpouseNicola Jane Crockford
Children2 daughters
AwardsDistinguished Service Award, Society for Conservation Biology, 2013; Sir John Burnett Memorial Lecture Medal, 2013
Scientific career
Fields Conservation Biology
Institutions University of Cambridge
Thesis Oystercatchers and cockles : a predatory-prey study  (1980)
Doctoral advisor William G. Hale

William James Sutherland CBE FRS [1] [2] (born 27 April 1956) is the Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge. He has been the president of the British Ecological Society. [3] He has been a Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge since 2008. [4]

Contents

Research

Sutherland's research interests largely involve predicting the consequences of environmental change. He is known for his research on integrating science and policy particularly in the field of evidence-based conservation. Over the last three decades, his research has spanned several disciplines. Two of his key contributions have been the horizon scanning exercises to identify future priority issues and the 100 important questions in various disciplines (ecology, [5] poverty prevention, [6] global agriculture and food [7] amongst others. He has also worked extensively on bird population ecology and the biodiversity impacts of agriculture. [8] He has been cited 23,955 times and has an i10-index of 277. [9]

Research career

Sutherland was awarded the Natural Environment Research Council postdoctoral fellowship to join Wolfson College, Oxford in 1980–82. [10] After completing his post doctoral research he joined the School of Environmental Sciences in the University of East Anglia in 1983 and went on to hold a professorship in Biology from 1996–2006 in the School of Biological Sciences. [11] He was also a trustee of Fauna & Flora International from 1998 to 2006, and the President of the British Ecological Society from 2013-2015. [12]

Honours and awards

Sutherland was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to evidence-based conservation. [1] , and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2023. [2]

Books

He has authored three books: Transforming Conservation: A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making, [17] The Conservation Handbook and From Individual Behaviour to Population Ecology. Additionally, he has also edited the following books: Managing Habitats for Conservation, Ecological Census Techniques, Behaviour and Conservation, Conservation Science and Action and Bird Ecology, Conservation: a Handbook of Techniques and Transforming Conservation- A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making, [18] [19] He has also co-authored the summaries on amphibian, bird, bee and farmland conservation, [20] [21] [22] [23]

A gratis book scheme that he established has given away more than 5000 books to 137 countries. [24]

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References

  1. 1 2 "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B10.
  2. 1 2 Anon (2023). "William Sutherland FRS". London: Royal Society.
  3. "BES Trustees". British Ecological Society. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. "St Catherine's College Cambridge – Fellows". St Catherine's College Cambridge. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. Sutherland, William J.; Freckleton, Robert P.; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Beissinger, Steven R.; Benton, Tim; et al. (2013). "Identification of 100 fundamental ecological questions" (PDF). Journal of Ecology . 101 (1): 58–67. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12025. ISSN   0022-0477. S2CID   37227167.
  6. Sutherland, William J.; Goulden, Chris; Bell, Kate; Bennett, Fran; Burall, Simon; et al. (2013). "100 Questions: Identifying research priorities for poverty prevention and reduction". Journal of Poverty and Social Justice. 21 (3): 189–205. doi: 10.1332/175982713X671210 .
  7. Pretty, Jules; Sutherland, William J.; Ashby, Jacqueline; Auburn, Jill; Baulcombe, David; et al. (2010). "The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture". International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 8 (4): 219–236. doi:10.3763/ijas.2010.0534. S2CID   12208593.
  8. "Department of Zoology – William Sutherland". University of Cambridge. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  9. "William J. Sutherland – Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.co.uk.
  10. "Conservation in a post-truth world" (Interview). Interviewed by Sam Perrin. Ecology for the Masses. April 2018.
  11. Nick Askew (July 2018). "Conservation Careers podcast: Bill Sutherland" (Podcast).
  12. "BES Presidents recognised in Queen's birthday honours list". British Ecological Society. 2023.
  13. "ZSL Scientific Medal Winners" (PDF). ZSL.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2016.
  14. "The Marsh Award for Ecology". britishecologicalsociety.org. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016.
  15. "Recipients of The Zoological Society of London Marsh Award for Conservation Biology" (PDF). ZSL.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2016.
  16. "NBN Timeline". National Biodiversity Network.
  17. Sutherland, William (November 2022). Transforming Conservation: A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making. Open Book Publishers. ISBN   9781800648562.
  18. Sutherland, William J. (6 December 2022). Sutherland, William J (ed.). Transforming Conservation: A Practical Guide to Evidence and Decision Making. Open Book Publishers. doi: 10.11647/obp.0321 . ISBN   978-1-80064-856-2.
  19. "Professor Bill Sutherland – Cambridge Conservation Initiative".
  20. Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2014). Amphibian Conservation: evidence for effectiveness of interventions. Pelagic Publishing
  21. Dicks, L. V., J. E. Ashpole, J. Danhardt, K. James, A. Jönsson, N. Randall, D. A. Showler, R. K. Smith, S. Turpie, D. Williams, and W. J. Sutherland. (2014). Farmland Conservation Synopsis. Pelagic Publishing
  22. Williams, D.,W., Opole, R.G., Showler, D.A., Dicks, L.V., Child, M.F., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J., & Sutherland, W.J. (2013). Bird Conservation. Evidence for the effects of interventions. Pelagic Publishing
  23. Dicks, L.J. Showler, D.A. & Sutherland, W.J. (2010) Bee conservation: evidence for the effectiveness of interventions. Pelagic Publishing
  24. Gratis Books Scheme at the Wayback Machine (archived September 14, 2014)