Posted on 10 September 2009
Dr Andrew Marshall splits his time between the University, where he is a researcher in the Environment Department and working for Flamingo Land, a theme park just outside York, as its Director of Conservation Science.
He is leading a project to study changes in the forests of the Udzungwa Mountains and surrounding areas, which are famous for their rare monkey populations. The current focus of research is the forest of Magombera, a key stronghold for rare red colobus monkeys, where 40 per cent of the trees have either seriously restricted range or are threatened with extinction. The forest also benefits elephants from the neighbouring Selous Game Reserve and is an important resource for local people.
The research examines both the biology of the forest in terms of animal and plant populations and the way local people exploit it for essentials such as fuel, food and water. Building up this detailed picture of the forest will allow the researchers to judge the success or failure of efforts to preserve it, which forms the second aim of the project.
Work is underway to educate local people about the importance of maintaining the forest in the long term and the potentially catastrophic future it faces unless changes are made to the way it is managed. Those changes will include agreeing a protected status for the forest and developing alternative resources so that the needs of local communities can continue to be met.
A new paper to appear in the Journal of Applied Ecology resulting from Dr Marshall’s work, has suggested that wildlife population surveys using fixed cameras are as reliable as direct counts, a finding that has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of wildlife surveys.
In October, PhD student Julia Latham will begin research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, examining the impacts of national and international conservation policies designed to reduce the harmful emissions linked to deforestation on rural people living in the area.
The information gathered is also a useful educational resource which gives visitors to Flamingo Land an insight into how conservation issues that are often discussed in global terms impact on one community and the wildlife that surrounds it.
Dr Andrew Marshall is a researcher in the Environment Department and Director of Conservation Science at Flamingo Land
email: am213@york.ac.uk
www.york.ac.uk/depts/eeem/people/marshall/marshall.htm.