PhD in tropical conservation: Quantifying the impacts of wildlife trade on tropical biodiversity

Wildlife trade is a core driver of the global extinction crisis, with the epicentre of traded species diversity in the tropics. Key questions remain about how wildlife trade impacts species populations and, in turn, the long-term sustainability of trade. This PhD will tackle this issue by bringing together local-scale data on species abundance responses to trade project likely sustainable quotas and extinction risk absent of conservation action.

A PhD student on this project will employ field sampling, advanced statistical methods, and/or population modelling to uniquely explore how wildlife trade impacts biodiversity. We have experience working on trade across vertebrates and plants, and spanning core tropical regions, allowing the student to explore a trade impacts on a range of taxa and scales. This research will answer questions with strong applied importance to provide the evidence base for improved wildlife management across the tropics.

Science Graduate School

As a PhD student in one of the science departments at the University of Sheffield, you will get access to training opportunities of the Science Graduate School designed to support your career development by helping you gain professional skills that are essential in all areas of science. You will be able to learn how to recognise good research and research behaviour, improve your communication abilities and experience the breadth of technologies that are used in academia, industry and many related careers. Visit http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sgs to learn more.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/postgraduate/phd