What Works in Conservation: 2015

William Sutherland holds the Miriam Rothschild Chair in Conservation Biology in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. He is president of the British Ecological Society. His previous twelve books include: Managing Habitats for Conservation (1995), Ecological Census Techniques (2006), The Conservation Handbook: Research, Management and Policy Techniques (2000). He is heavily involved in linking science and policy including through the effective use of evidence.

Lynn Dicks is a Research Fellow funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Sustainability Programme (2013-2016). She works on how to use scientific evidence in policy and practice, developing methods to compile and synthesize ecological evidence and make it useful for decision-making. All her work is focused on insect pollinator conservation and ecosystem services in farmland, but the methods are widely applicable. She is a Co-ordinating Lead Author of the IPBES Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production, due to be published in 2016. She has a degree from Oxford University in Biological Sciences (1995) and a PhD from Cambridge University (2002) on the ecology of flower-visiting insects. From 2002-2009, she worked as a science writer and science communications adviser.

Nancy Ockendon is the Miriam Rothschild Conservation Coordinator and works in the Conservation Science Group of the Zoology Department of the University of Cambridge. She is managing editor of the journal Conservation Evidence, and helps run the annual horizon scan of global conservation issues, as well as being involved in a range of projects as part of the Conservation Evidence group. Prior to this Nancy worked as a researcher in several conservation NGOs, mainly looking at the causes of changes in bird populations. She holds a degree in Zoology from Cambridge University and a PhD in ecological genetics of house sparrows from the University of Sheffield. 

Rebecca K. Smith is a Research Associate in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK. She holds degrees in the ecology and conservation of European hares (PhD, University of Bristol), Applied Ecology and Conservation (MSc, University of East Anglia) and Biology (BSc with Honours,University of Bristol). Dr Smith is part of the Conservation Evidence group at the University of Cambridge, which focuses on summarizing and disseminating scientific evidence about the effects of conservation interventions for habitats and species. She is an author of the Amphibian Conservation and Farmland Conservation synopses and has undertaken systematic reviews on the effectiveness of conservation management for birds. Prior to this work Dr Smith undertook projects developing monitoring and management strategies for high conservation priority mammal species. Her current role with Conservation Evidence includes facilitating the development and expert assessment of further synopses including reptile and forest conservation and invasive species management.