Kerry Stewart

I am studying biome-scale monitoring of ecosystem integrity in the largest wetland in the world, the Pantanal. In my work, I am interested in applying emerging methods for biodiversity monitoring to improve our understanding of how the world’s ecosystems are responding to global change. I am particularly excited about trying to understand the processes that support biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and how they are impacted by human activity. I did my PhD at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom where I studied the projected impact of avian extinctions on functional diversity. I found that avian functional diversity is particularly at risk due to human activity and that targeted conservation actions, above those in place for species richness, will be required to conserve functional diversity. I bring my expertise in trait-based ecology to the Pantanal project, where I continue to use species traits to understand the patterns and implications of biodiversity loss, alongside data on species occupancy and response to human activities at broad taxonomic and spatial scales with high spatial and temporal resolution. Using this cutting-edge dataset, we aim to measure ecosystem integrity across the Pantanal, to inform management decisions, identify priorities for conservation and advance approaches for ecosystem-scale monitoring.

Education

PhD, University of Reading, Biological Sciences
MSc, University of Edinburgh, Earth Sciences and Geoinformation Management
BA (Hons), University of Cambridge, Natural Sciences