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Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

World-leading interdisciplinary research into the complexities of biodiversity change in the Anthropocene, funded by the Leverhulme Trust

The Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity examines how the relationship between humanity and the natural world is changing, and how we might develop and maintain a sustainable Earth.

Human activities have caused the world’s physical and biological processes to change so significantly that we increasingly think of Earth as having entered a new era – the ‘Anthropocene’.

This disruption has resulted in the extinction of many species, but the Anthropocene is also a time of biological gains; it may eventually be considered one of the greatest boosts to biological diversity in history. We aim to understand the causes and consequences of biodiversity gains and losses, and inform and influence how society responds.

Research programmes

Understanding how human impacts and biological processes underpin the gains and losses of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Identifying the causes and consequences of varied human attitudes to the growth and loss of biodiversity.
Establishing the gains and harms people experience from biodiversity altered by humans and novel ecosystems.
Integrating knowledge to foster further gains, without compromising human wellbeing or risking ‘past’ biodiversity.

Latest news

News

4 December 2025

Tracey Hayes’ PhD research seeks to investigate the folk beliefs, narratives and traditions related to eagles in Ireland’s National Folklore Collection, housed in University College Dublin.

News

25 November 2025

A new report led by the British Ecological Society (BES) and National Trust (NT) calls for an ecosystem approach to nature recovery.

News

12 November 2025

A new study argues that habituation - the process of people or animals becoming used to something, so that they no longer find it unpleasant or think it is a threat - is a much more complex two-way process than scientists have assumed.

News

7 November 2025

AFRI-CAN project secures €10 million in funding from the European Research Council’s (ERC) highly competitive Synergy Grant.

People

Our Centre represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between multiple departments at the University of York, the University of Sherbrooke, University College London and the University of St Andrews.

Our expertise is wide-ranging and our researchers consider the changing relationship between humanity and the natural world, and how we might maintain and develop a sustainable Earth.

Meet our team 

Contact us 

Professor Lindsey Gillson - Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

Cross-cutting themes

Societal responses to the 'otherness' of species that are perceived to be foreign.
Generation of, attitudes towards and uses of hybrids in different cultures and times.
Perceived and actual benefits and harms caused to, and obtained from, ecosystems.
Exploring the social and biodiversity drivers and consequences of 'rewilding' and habitat 'restoration' strategies
Considering the extinction events of the past, how these link with the proposed “sixth mass extinction” of the present and the development of de-extinction.

Change is a defining feature of the Anthropocene, requiring agile and creative adaptations. LCAB research helps to leverage human ingenuity to create, conserve, restore and adapt social-ecological systems that safeguard biodiversity, while meeting the needs of people in ways that are fair and just.

Professor Lindsey Gillson, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity