Professor Philip Stephens

Professor in the Department of Biosciences

What do you do?

I hold a BSc in Zoology from the University of Bristol, an MSc in Conservation Biology from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, and a PhD in the population ecology of social mammals from the University of East Anglia (UEA). After completing my doctorate, I worked on farmland birds at UEA, contributed to the Amur tiger conservation project at the University of Wyoming in the USA, and researched life history optimisation at the University of Bristol. I joined Durham University in 2007 as a lecturer in Biosciences, and I am now a Professor.

How are you involved in this area of science? 

My ongoing work in Conservation ranges from individual projects, such as detecting the spread of the invasive Greater White-toothed Shrew, monitoring the impacts of human disturbance on red deer space use, and using advanced modelling techniques to explain and predict the routes taken by intercontinental migrant birds, to international initiatives, such as a collaborative network seeking to improve knowledge exchange between academics and conservation professionals, thereby enhancing international conservation policy and action.

Much of my focus is on a project called MammalWeb. MammalWeb provides a platform for collating, validating and curating camera trap data that can inform us about the distribution, abundance and ecology of mammals. We engage and work with a community of citizen scientists, ranging from school children to enthusiasts, researchers, and the general public, to deploy cameras, and help classify the images they collect. Working with partners, we are developing a rigorous approach to national mammal monitoring. 

How does this work deliver real-world impact?

There are many routes to impact. Demonstrating the causes of change in wild populations at continental scales, informs discourse and policy. Objective data can help to elucidate the drivers of change in systems characterised by conflict between different human interests, rationalising debate.

Our citizen science work engages the public with environmental concerns, educating school children and connecting participants to nature. The resultant data are used by a wide range of organisations, for educational, management and commercial purposes. Standardised annual data can eventually help to track the changing fates of wild mammal populations, feeding in to conservation, management and policy.