Marsh Ecology Award
The Marsh Ecology Award is run in association with the British Ecological Society to recognise outstanding achievements and contributions to the science of ecology. The Award has been awarded annually since 1996.
Ecology’s purpose is to provide knowledge about the way the world works and provide evidence on the interdependence between the natural world and people. Never before has ecology been more important. A better understanding of ecological systems will allow society to predict the consequences of human activity on the environment.
Established in 1913 by professional ecologists, the British Ecological Society (BES) promotes and fosters the study of ecology in its widest sense. The BES is well placed to support areas of excellence and most need within the field of ecology and over the past 100 years has developed and supported activities to do this.
The 2012 winner is Professor Tim Coulson
Professor Tim Coulson has been awarded the Marsh Ecology Award for his recent work linking environmental change to population dynamics of species.
Tim’s research looks at population ecology and identifying the factors which affect age- and sex-specific survival, fertility and dispersal, as well as the impact that changes in these factors have on population dynamics. He also looks at population genetics in his work, measuring reductions and improvements in inbreeding in wild populations. Tim has developed a microsatellite-based measure to examine the effects of inbreeding on life history traits in wild populations. He has also worked on genetic by environment effects on demography.
Furthermore, Tim carries out research on evolutionary ecology, where he explores changes in the birth sex ratio in Soay sheep. His current focus is on linking individual-level demography to population level dynamics to estimate opportunities for selection.
He also carried out work in the field of conservation and management, suggesting that good conservation biology and population management recommendations should be based on ecological and genetic theory. Tim’s research in this area has focused on how a solid ecological understanding can be used to underpin the conservation and management decision-making process.
Pictured above: Professor Tim Coulson, in Yellowstone National Park cutting an elk bone
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