Biography
2016–present: Postdoctoral Research Associate -Conservation Evidence at the Conservation Science Group. Dept. Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (UK)
2011–2016: Conservation Coordinator at Froglife Trust UK- overseeing as part of senior management the strategic conservation planning, funding and implementation, coordinating conservation staff and activities between Froglife offices in London, Peterborough, Sheffield and Glasgow. Coordinating research and conservation delivery as well as student supervision including Erasmus Masters students and UK postgraduates. Supervised PhD student Catia Matos (graduated 2017), MRes student Paul Furnborough (graduated 2016)
2011-present Honorary Research Associate University of Hull (UK), Faculty of Science
2011 (Jan-Nov): Postdoctoral Research Associate working with Dr. Phil Wheeler on impact of biomass energy crops on farmland biodiversity, University of Hull (UK)- funded by People's Trust for Endangered Species.
2011: PhD Ecology. University of Hull & Food and Environment Research Agency (UK). PhD thesis: Landscape ecology of brown hares and European rabbits in grassland areas in north-east England
2007: MSc Taxonomy and Conservation. University of Bucharest, (Romania)
2003: BSc Veterinary Medicine. University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, (Romania)
Research
I am broadly interested in understanding the effects of anthropogenic changes on biodiversity and improving evidence-based solutions for counteracting negative effects at population or landscape scale. My main areas of work have been on:
(1) road impacts (mortality, fragmentation, isolation, pollution) and evidence-based mitigation sollutions for amphibian and small and medium-sized mammals. This includes movement patterns and using road-based surveys for large-scale monitoring.
(2) harnessing the power of citizen science in long-term datasets for amphibians and reptiles, including for emerging diseases.
(3) how landscape management shapes the outcome of plant-animal interactions such as grazing and species distribution in relation to lagomorphs.
My current work at Conservation Evidence includes the update for the Bird Conservation book as well as editing the annual What Works In Conservation volume.
Publications
Helldin JO, Petrovan SO. (2019) Effectiveness of small road tunnels and fences in reducing amphibian roadkill and barrier effects at retrofitted roads in Sweden. PeerJ 7:e7518 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7518
Sutherland, W.J., Taylor, N.G., MacFarlane, D., Amano, T., Christie, A.P., Dicks, L., Lemasson, A.J., Littlewood, N.A., Martin, P.A., Ockendon, N., Petrovan, S.O., Robertson, R.J., Rocha, R., Shackelford, G.E., Smith, R.K., Tyler, E.H.M., Wordley, C.F.R. (2019) Building a tool to overcome barriers in research-implementation spaces: the Conservation Evidence database. Biological Conservation, 238, doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108199.
Matos, C., Petrovan, S. O., Wheeler, P. M., & Ward, A. I. (2019). Landscape connectivity and spatial prioritization in an urbanising world: A network analysis approach for a threatened amphibian. Biological Conservation, 237, 238-247. doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.06.035
Bates, K. A., Shelton, J. M., Mercier, V. L., Hopkins, K. P., Harrison, X. A., Petrovan, S. O., & Fisher, M. C. (2019). Captivity and infection by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans perturb the amphibian skin microbiome. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, 1834. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01834
Petrovan, S. O., & Schmidt, B. R. (2019). Neglected juveniles; a call for integrating all amphibian life stages in assessments of mitigation success (and how to do it). Biological Conservation, 236, 252-260.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.023
Grant EH, Muths E, Schmidt BR, Petrovan SO (2019) Amphibian conservation in the Anthropocene. Biological Conservation . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.03.003
Jarvis, LE, Hartup, M & Petrovan, SO (2019). Road mitigation using tunnels and fences promotes site connectivity and population expansion for a protected amphibian. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 65(2), 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-019-1263-9
Wheeler, PM, Ward, AI, Smith, GC, Croft, S, & Petrovan, SO (2019). Careful considerations are required when analysing mammal citizen science data– A response to Massimino et al. Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.021
Matos, C., Petrovan, S. O., Wheeler, P. M., & Ward, A. I. (2019). Short‐term movements and behaviour govern the use of road mitigation measures by a protected amphibian. Animal Conservation (22) 285-296 https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12467
Shackelford, G. E., Haddaway, N. R., Usieta, H. O., Pypers, P., Petrovan, S. O., & Sutherland, W. J. (2018). Cassava farming practices and their agricultural and environmental impacts: a systematic map protocol. Environmental Evidence 7:30 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-018-0142-2
Sutherland, W.J., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Petrovan, S. & Smith, R.K. (2018) What Works in Conservation 2018. Open Book Publishers: Cambridge, UK. DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0131
Petrovan, S. O., Junker, J., Wordley, C. F., Kühl, H., Orth, L., Smith, R., & Sutherland, W. J. (2018) Evidence-based synopsis of interventions, a new tool in primate conservation and research. International Journal of Primatology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-018-0017-y
Junker, J., Kühl, H.S., Orth, L., Smith, R.K., Petrovan, S.O. and Sutherland, W.J. (2017) Primate conservation: Global evidence for the effects of interventions. University of Cambridge, UK https://www.conservationevidence.com/synopsis/download/21
Franklinos, LH, Lorch, JM, Bohuski, E, Rodriguez-Ramos Fernandez, J, Wright, ON, Fitzpatrick, L, Petrovan, S, Durrant, C, Linton, C, Baláž, V, Cunningham, AA, Lawson, B. (2017) Emerging fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild European snakes Scientific Reports 7: 3844 doi:10.1038/s41598-017-03352-1
Petrovan, SO, Dixie, J, Yapp, E, Wheeler PM. (2017) Bioenergy crops and farmland biodiversity: benefits and limitations are scale-dependant for a declining mammal, the brown hare. European Journal of Wildlife Research 63: 49. doi:10.1007/s10344-017-1106-5
Matos C, Petrovan S, Ward AI, Wheeler P. (2017) Facilitating permeability of landscapes impacted by roads for protected amphibians: patterns of movement for the great crested newt. PeerJ 5:e2922 https://peerj.com/articles/2922/
White, K. J., Mayes, W. M., & Petrovan, S. O. (2017) Identifying pathways of exposure to highway pollutants in great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) road mitigation tunnels. Water and Environment Journal, 31(3), 310-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/wej.12244
Petrovan SO, Schmidt BR (2016) Volunteer Conservation Action Data Reveals Large-Scale and Long-Term Negative Population Trends of a Widespread Amphibian, the Common Toad (Bufo bufo). PLoS ONE 11(10): e0161943. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161943
Lawson, B, Petrovan SO & Cunningham A.A (2015) Citizen science and wildlife disease surveillance Ecohealth, 12, 693-702. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10393-015-1054-z
Petrovan, SO, Ward, AI & Wheeler, PM (2013) Habitat selection guiding agri-environment schemes for a mammalian farmland specialist, the brown hare Animal Conservation 16 (3) 344-352. DOI: 10.1111/acv.12002
Petrovan SO, Ward A.I, Wheeler P. (2011) Detectability counts when assessing populations for biodiversity targets. PlosONE 6(9):e24206. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024206
Petrovan SO, Barrio I.C., Ward A.I, Wheeler P. (2011) Farming for pests? Local and landscape-scale effects of grassland management on rabbit abundances European Journal of Wildlife Research 57 27-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-010-0394-9
Other publications:
Hill, IDC, Rossi, CA, Petrovan, SO, Hartup, M, Clark, F, Downie, JR (2019) Mitigating the effects of a road on amphibian migrations: a Scottish case study of road tunnels. Glasgow Naturalist 27 (The Amphibians and Reptiles of Scotland)
Petrovan, SO (2019) Towards an evidence-based approach for road mitigation schemes for amphibians and reptiles in the UK–a review) Glasgow Naturalist 27 (The Amphibians and Reptiles of Scotland)
Helldin JO, Petrovan SO. (2019). Effectiveness of small road tunnels and fences in reducing amphibian roadkill and barrier effects; case studies of retrofitted roads in Sweden. PeerJ Preprints 7:e27530v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27530v1
Petrovan, SO, Leu, M (2017) Hunting and Consumption of Passerine Birds by Wild Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) Waterbirds 40 (2), 187-190 doi: 10.1675/063.040.0212
Wormald K, Downie R, Petrovan S, Neal, R. (2015) The Froglife Trust: Working for amphibians and reptiles in the UK and beyond The Herpetological Bulletin, 1-6.
