Chris Duncan

About me

I have been interested in nature from an early age which led me to study Biological Sciences with a focus on ecology and evolution at the University of Birmingham. After my undergraduate degree, I continued to develop my scientific interests, spending three years in the Kalahari Desert working as a field researcher collecting data on animal behaviour, first as a volunteer and then a project manager. Through my experience working in the field, I had the opportunity to undertake a PhD at the University of Cambridge studying the social dominance systems of meerkats. I continued this work on the behavioural ecology of meerkats as a post-doctoral researcher, further investigating the environmental and social factors influencing their life-histories. More recently my interests have shifted towards widening efforts to restore the UK’s natural environment through inclusive approaches, leading me to my current position at the WWT.

My role

In my role as Principal Research Officer, I oversee the biophysical monitoring and evidence for the Community Bluescapes project in Richmond and Project Sponge in Slough, both part of the DEFRA Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP). This work investigates the hydrological and ecological consequences of nature-based solutions to flood risk in an urban environment, such as SuDS and river restoration. This involves continuing multi-year data collection across stream catchments to measure changes in water levels, stream invertebrate communities and bat activity, with the aim to capture the impacts of our interventions. A key part of this role also involves facilitating citizen science initiatives to foster engagement and encourage community led long-term monitoring of urban ecosystems.

Experience and interests

• R programming language.
• Statistical analysis and visualisation of data
• Developing automated systems for the processing and monitoring of long-term datasets.
• The management and collection of long-term ecological data