Finn Stewart

Research Interests

My main research interests are behavioural ecology, population ecology and conservation. Using a combination of fieldwork and existing data I am building a metapopulation model to investigate the effects of environmental change on the willow tit, Britain’s most endangered woodland bird. 

The willow tit has undergone a population decline of 65% in the last ten years, thought to be primarily the result of woodland habitat degradation. Despite this decline in woodland, healthy populations are persisting in areas of young scrub on abandoned industrial sites. 

By establishing key components in habitat age and structure, and incorporating temporal and spatial aspects into the model it will be possible to identify the best management regimes to conserve the species.