Dr Karl Evans
School of Biosciences
Senior Lecturer
karl.evans@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 0125
+44 114 222 0125
B2 210, Alfred Denny Building
Full contact details
Dr Karl Evans
School of Biosciences
B2 210
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
School of Biosciences
B2 210
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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- Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology, University of Sheffield (2015-present)
- Lecturer in Conservation Biology, University of Sheffield (2011-2014)
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Sheffield (2009-2011)
- Post-doctoral researcher, University of Sheffield (2003-2008)
- Royal Society Travelling Research Fellow, University of Lincoln, New Zealand (2002)
- DPhil, University of Oxford (2001)
- Research interests
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My research focuses on biodiversity responses to environmental change, and how negative impacts of human activity can be minimised through conservation interventions and policy. This research considers a wide range of environmental change drivers and environments but urbanisation and climate change are two major themes. I am also interested in how biodiversity responds to natural environmental gradients. My research is increasingly multi-disciplinary and often combines large scale approaches with intensive fieldwork at more local scales.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Assessing multidimensional sustainability : lessons from Brazil’s social protection programs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). View this article in WRRO
- Food availability limits avian reproduction in the city: An experimental study on great tits Parus major. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Conservation in the maelstrom of Covid‐19 – a call to action to solve the challenges, exploit opportunities and prepare for the next pandemic. Animal Conservation. View this article in WRRO
- Phenological responses in a sycamore‐aphid‐parasitoid system and consequences for aphid population dynamics: a 20‐year case study. Global Change Biology. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of protected areas on poverty, extreme poverty, and inequality in Nepal. Conservation Letters, 11(6).
- Tritrophic phenological match–mismatch in space and time. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(6), 970-975.
- Perceived species-richness in urban green spaces: Cues, accuracy and well-being impacts. Landscape and Urban Planning, 172, 1-10. View this article in WRRO
- Biodiversity in the City: Fundamental Questions for Understanding the Ecology of Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity Conservation. BioScience, 67(9), 799-807.
- Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15(4), 189-196.
- A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas. Conservation Biology, 30(1), 133-141. View this article in WRRO
- Impacts of Urban Areas and Their Characteristics on Avian Functional Diversity. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 5.
All publications
Journal articles
- Climate change threatens carbon storage in Europe’s urban trees. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 101, 128532-128532.
- Ten years on for the Letter from the Conservation Front Line. Animal Conservation, 27(2), 139-140.
- Urbanisation of a growing tropical mega-city during the 21st century — Landscape transformation and vegetation dynamics. Landscape and Urban Planning, 238, 104812-104812.
- Biodiversity and environmental stressors along urban walking routes. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 85, 127951-127951.
- Protected areas support more species than unprotected areas in Great Britain, but lose them equally rapidly. Biological Conservation, 278, 109884-109884.
- The role of journals in supporting the socially responsible use of conservation technology. Oryx, 57(1), 1-2.
- The effects of tropical elevations and associated habitat changes on firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) diversity in Malaysia. Diversity, 15(1).
- Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems. Nature Communications, 13. View this article in WRRO
- Squirrel and tree‐shrew responses along an urbanisation gradient in a tropical mega‐city – reduced biodiversity, increased hybridisation of Callosciurus squirrels, and effects of habitat quality. Animal Conservation.
- Species richness and ecosystem services of tree assemblages along an urbanisation gradient in a tropical mega-city: Consequences for urban design. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 70, 127527-127527.
- An experimental test of the impact of avian diversity on attentional benefits and enjoyment of people experiencing urban green‐space. People and Nature.
- Inter-specific variation in the potential for upland rush management advocated by agri-environment schemes to increase breeding wader densities. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9. View this article in WRRO
- Can we model cultural ecosystem services, and are we measuring the right things?. People and Nature. View this article in WRRO
- Integrating solutions to adapt cities for climate change. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(7), e479-e486.
- Upland rush management advocated by agri-environment schemes increases predation of artificial wader nests. Animal Conservation.
- Experimental simulations of climate change induced mismatch in oak and larval development rates impact indicators of fitness in a declining woodland moth. Oikos.
- Incubation in a temperate passerine: do environmental conditions affect incubation period duration and hatching success?. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8.
- Assessing multidimensional sustainability : lessons from Brazil’s social protection programs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). View this article in WRRO
- Food availability limits avian reproduction in the city: An experimental study on great tits Parus major. Journal of Animal Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Conservation in the maelstrom of Covid‐19 – a call to action to solve the challenges, exploit opportunities and prepare for the next pandemic. Animal Conservation. View this article in WRRO
- Butterfly richness and abundance along a gradient of imperviousness and the importance of matrix quality. Ecological Applications. View this article in WRRO
- Phenological responses in a sycamore‐aphid‐parasitoid system and consequences for aphid population dynamics: a 20‐year case study. Global Change Biology. View this article in WRRO
- Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland : effects of composition and height on biodiversity. Ecological Applications, 29(6). View this article in WRRO
- Using GIS-linked Bayesian Belief Networks as a tool for modelling urban biodiversity. Landscape and Urban Planning, 189, 382-395. View this article in WRRO
- Impact of protected areas on poverty, extreme poverty, and inequality in Nepal. Conservation Letters, 11(6).
- Quantifying carbon stocks in shifting cultivation landscapes under divergent management scenarios relevant to REDD+. Ecological Applications, 28(6), 1581-1593. View this article in WRRO
- The Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Colonisation on Nutrient Status, Growth, Productivity, and Canker Resistance of Apple (Malus pumila). Frontiers in Microbiology, 9. View this article in WRRO
- Visits to urban green-space and the countryside associate with different components of mental well-being and are better predictors than perceived or actual local urbanisation intensity. Landscape and Urban Planning, 175, 114-122.
- Tritrophic phenological match–mismatch in space and time. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(6), 970-975.
- Impact of urbanization on abundance and phenology of caterpillars and consequences for breeding in an insectivorous bird. Ecological Applications, 28(5), 1143-1156.
- Perceived species-richness in urban green spaces: Cues, accuracy and well-being impacts. Landscape and Urban Planning, 172, 1-10. View this article in WRRO
- European butterfly populations vary in sensitivity to weather across their geographical ranges. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 26(12), 1374-1385. View this article in WRRO
- Biodiversity in the City: Fundamental Questions for Understanding the Ecology of Urban Green Spaces for Biodiversity Conservation. BioScience, 67(9), 799-807.
- “Not in their front yard” The opportunities and challenges of introducing perennial urban meadows: A local authority stakeholder perspective. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 25, 139-149. View this article in WRRO
- Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15(4), 189-196.
- Optimising UK urban road verge contributions to biodiversity and ecosystem services with cost-effective management. Journal of Environmental Management, 191, 162-171. View this article in WRRO
- Contrasting effects of visiting urban green-space and the countryside on biodiversity knowledge and conservation support. PLOS ONE, 12(3). View this article in WRRO
- A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 43, 92-106. View this article in WRRO
- Biodiverse perennial meadows have aesthetic value and increase residents’ perceptions of site quality in urban green-space. Landscape and Urban Planning, 158, 105-118. View this article in WRRO
- ‘Green’ on the ground but not in the air: Pro-environmental attitudes are related to household behaviours but not discretionary air travel. Global Environmental Change, 42, 136-147. View this article in WRRO
- Urban biodiversity and landscape ecology: patterns, processes and planning. Current Landscape Ecology Reports, 1(4), 178-192. View this article in WRRO
- The impact of land use/land cover scale on modelling urban ecosystem services. Landscape Ecology, 31(7), 1509-1522. View this article in WRRO
- A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas. Conservation Biology, 30(1), 133-141. View this article in WRRO
- Expanding fundamental ecological knowledge by studying urban ecosystems. Functional Ecology, 29(7), 863-867.
- Linking Brazil’s food security policies to agricultural change. Food Security, 7(4), 779-793.
- Ecological traps and behavioural adjustments of urban songbirds to fine-scale spatial variation in predator activity. Animal Conservation, 18(6), 529-538.
- Breeding season weather determines long-tailed tit reproductive success through impacts on recruitment. Journal of Avian Biology, 46(5), 441-451.
- Relative Roles of Grey Squirrels, Supplementary Feeding, and Habitat in Shaping Urban Bird Assemblages. PLoS ONE, 9(10). View this article in WRRO
- Avian Urban Ecology. Behavioural and Physiological Adaptations. Animal Behaviour, 93, 119-119.
- Carry-over effects from passage regions are more important than breeding climate in determining the breeding phenology and performance of three avian migrants of conservation concern. Biodiversity and Conservation.
- Climate change and annual survival in a temperate passerine: Partitioning seasonal effects and predicting future patterns. Oikos, 123(4), 389-400. View this article in WRRO
- 110 Years of change in urban tree stocks and associated carbon storage. Ecology and Evolution, 4(8), 1413-1422. View this article in WRRO
- Assessing the potential for Grey Squirrels Sciurus carolinensis to compete with birds at supplementary feeding stations. Ibis, 156(1), 220-226.
- Bristling with potential. Planet Earth(AUTUMN), 20-21.
- Phenological indices of avian reproduction: cryptic shifts and prediction across large spatial and temporal scales. Ecology and Evolution, 3(7), 1864-1877. View this article in WRRO
- Ecological predictors of reduced avian reproductive investment in the southern hemisphere. Ecography, 36(7), 809-818.
- Candidate gene polymorphisms for behavioural adaptations during urbanization in blackbirds.. Mol Ecol, 22(13), 3629-3637.
- Fearing the feline: Domestic cats reduce avian fecundity through trait-mediated indirect effects that increase nest predation by other species. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(1), 15-24.
- Squirrels in suburbia: influence of urbanisation on the occurrence and distribution of a common exotic mammal. Urban Ecosystems, 1-14.
- Flexible dispersal strategies in native and non-native ranges: Environmental quality and the 'good-stay, bad-disperse' rule. Ecography, 35(11), 1024-1032.
- Stable isotope analysis provides new information on winter habitat use of declining avian migrants that is relevant to their conservation. PLoS ONE, 7(4). View this article in WRRO
- Rapid monitoring of species abundance for biodiversity conservation: Consistency and reliability of the MacKinnon lists technique. Biological Conservation.
- Colonisation of urban environments is associated with reduced migratory behaviour, facilitating divergence from ancestral populations. Oikos.
- The value of species rarity in biodiversity recreation: A birdwatching example. Biological Conservation, 144(11), 2728-2732.
- What makes an urban bird?. Global Change Biology, 17(1), 32-44.
- A conceptual framework for the colonisation of urban areas: the blackbird Turdus merula as a case study.. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 85(3), 643-667.
- Characterization of 38 microsatellite loci in the European blackbird, Turdus merula (Turdidae, AVES). MOL ECOL RESOUR, 9(6), 1520-1526.
- The biogeography of avian extinctions on oceanic islands revisited. J BIOGEOGR, 36(8), 1613-1614.
- Independent colonization of multiple urban centres by a formerly forest specialist bird species.. Proc Biol Sci, 276(1666), 2403-2410.
- Statutory protected areas and avian species richness in Britain. BIODIVERS CONSERV, 18(8), 2143-2151.
- VOCALIZATIONS, DISTRIBUTION, AND ECOLOGY OF THE CLOUD-FOREST SCREECH OWL (MEGASCOPS MARSHALLI). WILSON J ORNITHOL, 121(2), 240-252.
- Effects of urbanisation on disease prevalence and age structure in blackbird Turdus merula populations. OIKOS, 118(5), 774-782.
- State-level variation in conservation investment by a major nongovernmental organization. CONSERV LETT, 2(2), 74-81.
- Latitudinal and seasonal patterns in clutch size of some single-brooded British birds. BIRD STUDY, 56, 75-85.
- The effect of urbanisation on avian morphology and latitudinal gradients in body size. OIKOS, 118(2), 251-259.
- Habitat influences on urban avian assemblages. IBIS, 151(1), 19-39.
- Use of distance sampling to improve estimates of national population sizes for common and widespread breeding birds in the UK. J APPL ECOL, 45(5), 1330-1338.
- Threats to avifauna on oceanic islands revisited. CONSERV BIOL, 22(2), 492-494.
- Avian assemblage structure and domestic cat densities in urban environments. DIVERS DISTRIB, 14(2), 387-399.
- Spatial scale, abundance and the species-energy relationship in British birds.. J Anim Ecol, 77(2), 395-405.
- Slopes of Avian Species-Area Relationships, Human Population Density, and Environmental Factors. AVIAN CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGY, 2(2).
- Effects of crop type and aerial invertebrate abundance on foraging barn swallows Hirundo rustica. AGR ECOSYST ENVIRON, 122(2), 267-273.
- Low functional diversity and no redundancy in British avian assemblages.. J Anim Ecol, 76(5), 977-985.
- Bird densities are associated with household densities. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOL, 13(8), 1685-1695.
- The positive correlation between avian species richness and human population density in Britain is not attributable to sampling bias. GLOBAL ECOL BIOGEOGR, 16(3), 300-304.
- People, species richness and human population growth. GLOBAL ECOL BIOGEOGR, 15(6), 625-636.
- Abundance, species richness and energy availability in the North American avifauna. GLOBAL ECOL BIOGEOGR, 15(4), 372-385.
- Protected areas and regional avian species richness in South Africa.. Biol Lett, 2(2), 184-188.
- Species traits and the form of individual species-energy relationships. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1595), 1779-1787. View this article in WRRO
- First ornithological inventory and conservation assessment for the yungas forests of the Cordilleras Cocapata and Mosetenes, Cochabamba, Bolivia. Bird Conservation International, 15(4), 361-382.
- Can the evolutionary-rates hypothesis explain species-energy relationships?. FUNCT ECOL, 19(6), 899-915.
- Brain size and resource specialization predict long-term population trends in British birds. P ROY SOC B-BIOL SCI, 272(1578), 2305-2311. View this article in WRRO
- Dissecting the species-energy relationship.. Proc Biol Sci, 272(1577), 2155-2163. View this article in WRRO
- Investigating geographic variation in clutch size using a natural experiment. FUNCT ECOL, 19(4), 616-624.
- The species-area-energy relationship. ECOL LETT, 8(5), 487-492.
- The roles of extinction and colonization in generating species-energy relationships. J ANIM ECOL, 74(3), 498-507.
- Relative contribution of abundant and rare species to species-energy relationships.. Biol Lett, 1(1), 87-90. View this article in WRRO
- Response to comment on "Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands". SCIENCE, 307(5714), 1412-1412.
- People, energy and avian species richness. GLOBAL ECOL BIOGEOGR, 14(2), 187-196.
- Species-energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms.. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 80(1), 1-25.
- Changes in egg size of exotic passerines introduced to New Zealand. Notornis, 52(4), 243-246.
- Home range behaviour of the monogamous Australian seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 72(1), 1-12.
- Does energy availability influence classical patterns of spatial variation in exotic species richness?. GLOBAL ECOL BIOGEOGR, 14(1), 57-65.
- Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands. SCIENCE, 305(5692), 1955-1958.
- Birds and people in Europe.. Proc Biol Sci, 271(1548), 1649-1655. View this article in WRRO
- Temporal and spatial opportunities for polygamy in a monogamous seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. Behaviour, 141(2), 141-156.
- Synchrony, asynchrony, and temporally random mating: A new method for analyzing breeding synchrony. Behavioral Ecology, 15(4), 699-700.
- Barn Swallows and agriculture. British Birds, 97(5), 218-230.
- The potential for interactions between predation and habitat change to cause population declines of farmland birds. IBIS, 146(1), 1-13.
- Selection of hedgerows by SwallowsHirundo rusticaforaging on farmland: the influence of local habitat and weather. Bird Study, 50(1), 8-14.
- SwallowHirundo rusticapopulation trends in England: data from repeated historical surveys. Bird Study, 50(2), 178-181.
- Segregation in the African wintering ranges of English and Swiss Swallow Hirundo rustica populations: a stable isotope study. BIRD STUDY, 50, 294-299.
- Changes in the breeding biology of the Welcome Swallow (Hirundo tahitica) in New Zealand since colonisation. EMU, 103(3), 215-220.
- Impacts of ecosystem service message framing and dynamic social norms on public support for tropical forest restoration. Conservation Biology.
- Urban scavenging: vertebrates display greater sensitivity to land-cover and garden vegetation cover than invertebrates. Urban Ecosystems.
- Socio-economic and environmental trade-offs in Amazonian protected areas and Indigenous territories revealed by assessing competing land uses. Nature Ecology & Evolution.
- Revealing uncertainty in the status of biodiversity change. Nature.
- Towards an understanding of quality and inclusivity in human‐environment experiences. Geography Compass.
- The value of shifting cultivation for biodiversity in Northeast India. Diversity and Distributions.
- Avian species richness and tropical urbanization gradients: Effects of woodland retention and human disturbance. Ecological Applications.
- Anthropogenic noise reduces avian feeding efficiency and increases vigilance along an urban‐rural gradient regardless of species' tolerances to urbanisation. Journal of Avian Biology.
- Impacts of Urban Areas and Their Characteristics on Avian Functional Diversity. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 5.
Chapters
- Community Assembly and Filtering of Urban Ecosystems, Routledge Handbook of Urban Biodiversity (pp. 85-97). Routledge
- 110 Years of Change In Urban Tree Stocks and Associated Carbon Storage, Urban Forests: Ecosystem Services and Management (pp. 189-210).
- Urbanisation and development, Silent Summer (pp. 72-83). Cambridge University Press
Conference proceedings papers
- Ecogeographical rules: elements of a synthesis. JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Vol. 35(3) (pp 483-500)
- The effects of habitat structure on predation risk of birds in agricultural landscapes. IBIS, Vol. 146 (pp 210-220)
Preprints
- Overconfidence undermines global wildlife abundance trends, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Assessing multidimensional sustainability : lessons from Brazil’s social protection programs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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Postdoctoral researchers
- Dr Georgina Southon - Urban ecosystem services: fragments, functions and flows project. NERC funded through the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programme.
- Dr Briony Norton - Urban ecosystem services: fragments, functions and flows project. NERC funded through the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programme.
- Dr Odhran O'Sulivan - Improving road side verges for biodiversity and ecosystem services (NERC Impact accelerator
PhD students
- Despina Berdeni - Balancing food security and biodiversity - are fungi the answer?
- Cecilie Dyngeland - Delivering food security through small scale farmers - lessons from Brazil.
- Simon Mills - Impacts of extreme climatic events on European bird and butterfly populations.
- Joli Borah - Cost-effectively enhancing the carbon and biodiversity value of shifting cultivation under REDD plus.
- Nada Badruddin - Environmental determinants of Malaysian firefly assemblage structure.
- Caitlin Higgot - Evolutionary ecology of an extended phenotype: nest construction and function in a variable environment.
- Vicki Senior - Developing a mechanistic understanding of the ecological impacts of climate change: neglected woodland insects.
- Olivia Richardson
- Bowy den Braber - Protected areas economic constraint or opportunity?
- Teaching activities
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My teaching is strongly connected to my environmental change research
At level 2 I am module co-ordinator for APS271 Conservation Principles, which uses a diverse array of case-studies to introduce students to the ecological principles that underpin conservation action. The overall aim is to equip students with the skills required to derive solutions to many of the problems faced by those working in conservation.
At level 3 I teach on APS349 Conservation Issues and Management which provides students opportunities to develop (i) their knowledge of topical issues in conservation, (ii) their ability to identify potential solutions to real-world conservation problems and assess the likely effectiveness of these, (iii) their skills in accessing, interpreting and synthesising the primary scientific literature in the field of conservation, and (iv) their ability to think independently.
I give tutorials to level 1 and level 2 students, and supervise ecology and conservation research projects and dissertations at level 3, level 4 and for our MRes courses.
I have a Certificate in Learning and Teaching (CiLT) qualification (modules 1 & 2)
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Associated editor of Animal Conservation (2012 onwards)
- Associate editor of Global Ecology and Biogeography (2010 onwards)
- Member of British Ornithologists' Union committee (2013 onwards)