Two key questions in biodiversity conservation relate to how we manage land/sea-scapes for wildlife and at what point in time we can expect to observe the consequences of our actions. Mathematically, these questions relate to (multiple) steady states and transient dynamics. I will consider two theoretical and inferential examples under each of these questions. I will first examine how the use of suburban and agroforestry ecosystems can be optimised for biodiversity gains. I will then explore frameworks for the analysis of delayed impacts in large-scale bird community data and very fine scale grazer rewilding experiments. The convergence of ideas from dynamical systems and modern statistical inference is a very exciting development in quantitative ecology. Thorny rewilding applications are one of the top areas where such theoretical advances can gain real traction and produce tangible impact.
This video was produced by the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, as part of the seminar series Rewilding Mathematics.
