CCI Conservation Seminar - Prof Rob Fletcher

CCI Conservation Seminar - Prof Rob Fletcher, Department of Zoology and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge

A Well-Connected Earth

New global biodiversity targets focus on landscape and seascape connectivity as a foundational component of biodiversity conservation, including establishing ‘‘well-connected” networks of protected areas around the world. Recent advances allow the measurement and prediction of organismal movements at multiple scales and highlight how the resulting connectivity contributes to population persistence, ecological function, and ecosystem services. This knowledge can guide biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, and climate adaptation, yet much of connectivity science remains to be fully integrated into planning. Given the rapidly closing window of opportunity to conserve connectivity, a global effort is required to align and mainstream the scientific knowledge produced with the pressing need to map, protect, and restore areas that support species’ movements and meet the diverse needs of nature and people. In this talk, I will provide key evidence on the importance of connectivity for species persistence and biodiversity, new unified and scalable models that honor species movement while making reliable predictions for connectivity, and a generalized framework for connectivity science and its applications to promote ‘well-connected’ landscapes.

Robert Fletcher is the incoming Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge. His group recently moved from the University of Florida, where he was a Professor of Landscape Conservation. His research interests include landscape ecology, conservation biology, ornithology and quantitative modeling. He has long-term field research in the Everglades (USA) and in southern Africa, where his team blends applied field ecology with quantitative science to address the biodiversity crisis. He has published over 145 scientific articles and is the author of the book, Spatial Ecology and Conservation Modeling. In 2024, Rob was the recipient of the Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award from the International Association of Landscape Ecology. He is a committed teacher and mentor, having mentored over 40 graduate students and postdocs. Rob is thrilled to be in Cambridge and looks forward to building partnerships with the CCI.