Dr Samuel Turvey

Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Institute of Zoology.

His main interest is the history and prehistory of human-caused extinctions – their geographic, taxonomic and ecological patterns; their drivers, duration and ecosystem impacts; and the usefulness of this environmental history in developing conservation strategies for today’s threatened species. His research so far has focused mainly on reconstructing pre-human ecosystems and the chronology and dynamics of mammal and bird extinctions on islands such as New Zealand and the West Indies, which are both evolutionarily innovative and ecologically fragile.

He is also heavily involved with ZSL’s new EDGE of Existence programme, which aims to support conservation projects for evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species (hence the acronym) – species that represent branches rather than twigs on the Tree of Life – in order to prevent the imminent extinction of disproportionate amounts of biodiversity.

In particular, he is currently developing conservation projects for solenodons and hutias, the only surviving land mammals of the West Indies, which are now extremely threatened.

Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Institute of Zoology.

His main interest is the history and prehistory of human-caused extinctions – their geographic, taxonomic and ecological pattern...