Dr. Peter Long
Academic profile
Peter is a James Martin research fellow working with Prof Kathy Willis at the Institute of Biodiversity in the Department of Zoology and in partnership with Operation Wallacea.
He completed his PhD thesis on conservation biology of wetland birds and subsequently worked as a research officer investigating landscape genetics in Madagascar.
Research interests
Peter is a conservation scientist with research focused on generating spatially-explicit scenarios of land cover and biodiversity to inform conservation management. Research focuses on wetlands, tropical moist forests and dry forests.
His research uses GIS techniques to address ecological questions including remote sensing, classification and change analysis, and species distribution models. Also interested in monitoring techniques, the derivation of robust biodiversity indicators and population size and density estimation. Increasingly involved in conservation capacity building and training, especially in Madagascar.
Current research
Optimal monitoring methods for conservation planning in large dynamic tropical landscapes
In this project a GIS-based decision support tool will be developed which incorporates biodiversity, land cover, climate, and human population data relating to landscapes in Honduras, Madagascar and Indonesia. Change models will be applied to create ensembles of future environmental scenarios. In both the present and future scenarios ‘balance sheets’ will be kept to measure the extent to which biodiversity, ecosystem services and economic objectives have been met in order to identify optimal patterns of land uses on an efficiency frontier for these three objectives.
Landscape genetics of endemism: a case study of wetland birds in Madagascar
The objective of this project is to understand the process that have given rise to the distribution of endemic wetland birds in Madagascar, explore wetland change in the recent past, and model future scenarios of wetland biodiversity using a combination of landscape genetics and GIS.
Contact
Publications
Brede EG, Long PR, Zefania S, Rabenandrasana M, Szekely T, Bruford MW. (2010) PCR primers for microsatellite loci in a Madagascan waterbird, the Sakalava rail (Amaurornis olivieri). Conservation Genetics Resources, 2: 273-277
Zefania S, Razafimahatatra M, Faria P, Bruford MW, Long PR, Szekely T. (2010) Sexual size dimorphism in breeding plovers Charadrius spp. of Madagascar. Ostrich, 81: 173-178
Rabenandrasana M, Zefania S, Long PR, Seing ST, Virginie MC, Randrianarisoa M, Safford R, Szekely T. (2009) Distribution, habitat and status of the globally endangered Sakalava rail of Madagascar. Bird Conservation International,19: 1-11
Zefania S, ffrench-Constant R, Long PR, Szekely T. (2008) Breeding distribution and ecology of the threatened Madagascar Plover Charadrius thoracicus. Ostrich, 79: 43-51
Long PR, Zefania S, Szekely T, Ffrench-Constant RH. (2008) Estimating the population size of an endangered shorebird, the Madagascar plover, using a habitat suitability model. Animal Conservation, 11: 118-127
Long PR, Szekely T, Kerhaw M, O'Connell M (2007) Ecological factors and human threats both drive wildfowl population declines. Animal Conservation, 10: 183-191