Biodiversity Assessment and Tool Development

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You are viewing all research activities in the Biodiversity Assessment and Tool Development theme. Names shown indicate authors or co-authors involved from the Centre of Conservation and Restoration Science.

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Taxonomic & Functional Biodiversity Assessment

To assess biodiversity, taxonomic diversity, the “fingerprint” (who you are), and functional diversity, “the footprint” (what you do), are measured. Understanding the significance of the presence of a species, population, community, and the consequence of their loss is fundamental for the science and application of conservation and restoration.

Projects

Bringing River Biodiversity Assessment Into The 21st Century

Optimisation of moorland bird surveys project

The prevalence, sources and diversity of antibiotic resistant E. coli in Scottish surface waters: a baseline for risk assessment and intervention targets.

Evaluating the landscape-scale benefits of sustainable urban drainage systems for freshwater biodiversity

Holdfast: communities and blue carbon

Easter Beltie Ecological Restoration Monitoring Research

First Recordings of the Soundscape of Pristine European Flat Oyster Reefs

West of Scotland Herring Hunt (WOSHH)

Marine Soundscapes and eDNA for Assessing Biodiversity and Functioning of Re-establishing European Flat Oyster Reefs, Ostrea edulis

Quantifying Antimicobial Resistance in the River Almond Catchment Area

The effects of parasites on food web structure and dynamics: new ways to improve accuracy and ecological realism

Investigating the prevalence and diversity of bacterial endosymbionts in Scottish hoverfly populations

Online Plant Identification Training for Water of Leith Conservation Trust

Scotland-India Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment Network (SIAMREN)

Methane-derived carbon in upland stream food webs

Wester Ross Herring Spawning Ecology

Gregarines - an aquatic symbiosis model system

Do microbial mats explain sediment stability in seagrass meadows?

Microlanding - Symbiont transmission in early life stages of mangrove crabs

Tarland & Beltie Burn Restoration

As Good as (G)Old? Comparing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of Restored and Natural Mangrove Forests in the Wallacea Region

The hidden links in trophic food webs: where do the parasites fit?

Nubian Ibex Genetics in Oman

The juvenile fish fauna of a Kenyan mangrove forest: exploring new tools to understand growth and condition

Phd studentship (Earthwatch), Determints Of Habitat Use By Fish In Mangroves In Kenya

Publications

Raccoons contraband: The metazoan parasite fauna of free-ranging raccoons in central Europe (2023), International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife; (Rueckert)

Environmental micro-niche filtering shapes bacterial pioneer communities during primary colonization of a Himalayas' glacier forefield (2022), Environmental Microbiology; (Fusi)

Safeguarding Imperiled Biodiversity and Evolutionary Processes in the Wallacea Center of Endemism (2022), Bioscience; (Diele, Fusi)

Evaluating the suitability of close-kin mark-recapture as a demographic modelling tool for a critically endangered elasmobranch population (2023), Evolutionary Applications; (Frost)

Stable pollination service in a generalist High Arctic community despite the warming climate (2023), Ecological Monographs; (Ballantyne)

Pollinator-flower interactions in gardens during the covid 19 pandemic lockdown of 2020 (2022), Journal of Pollination Ecology; (Ballantyne)

The plant rhizosheath-root niche is an edaphic "mini-oasis"in hyperarid deserts with enhanced microbial competition (2022), ISME Communications; (Fusi)

Bioturbation Intensity Modifies the Sediment Microbiome and Biochemistry and Supports Plant Growth in an Arid Mangrove System (2022), Microbiology Spectrum; (Fusi, Diele)

Stocks and productivity of dead wood in mangrove forests: A systematic literature review (2022), Frontiers in Forests and Global Change; (Huxham)

Fluctuating Habitats: Ecological Relevance of Environmental Variability and Predictability on Species, Communities, and Ecosystems (2022), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; (Fusi)

The Right Place at the Right Time: Seasonal Variation of Bacterial Communities in Arid Avicennia marina Soils in the Red Sea Ii Specific to Its Position in the Intertidal (2022), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; (Fusi)

Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities (2022), Journal of Biogeography; (Gilchrist)

Bacterial communities in soils as indicators of the potential of syenite as an agromineral (2022), Pesquisa AgropecuÃ¡ria Brasileira; (Singleton)

Composition and structure of the mangrove fish and crustacean communities of Vanga Bay, Kenya (2022), Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science; (Huxham, Rueckert)

Contrasting Effects of Local Environmental and Biogeographic Factors on the Composition and Structure of Bacterial Communities in Arid Monospecific Mangrove Soils (2022), Microbiology Spectrum; (Fusi)

Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps (2021), Ecosphere; (Briers)

Best Practices for Monitoring and Assessing the Ecological Response to River Restoration (2021), Water; (Dodd)

Population and seascape genomics of a critically endangered benthic elasmobranch, the blue skate Dipturus batis (2022), Evolutionary Applications; (Frost)

Editorial: Impacts of Habitat Transformation on Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in Asia (2021), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

The Importance of Larval Stages for Considering Crab Microbiomes as a Paradigm for the Evolution of Terrestrialization (2021), Frontiers in Microbiology; (Wale, Fusi, Diele)

Multi-scale habitat selection and spatial analysis reveals a mismatch between the wintering distribution of a threatened population of Taiga Bean Geese Anser fabalis and its protected area (2022), Bird Study; (Briers, White)

Ecology of the facultative phytotelmic crab Platychirarma buettikoferi (De Man, 1883) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae) (2021), Crustaceana; (Fusi)

Aridity modulates belowground bacterial community dynamics in olive tree (2021), Environmental Microbiology; (Fusi)

The effect of plant domestication on host control of the microbiota (2021), Communications Biology; (Fusi)

A functional analysis reveals extremely low redundancy in global mangrove invertebrate fauna (2021), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; (Diele)

Parasites, pathogens, and other symbionts of copepods (2021), Trends in Parasitology; (Rueckert)

The sediment carbon stocks of intertidal seagrass meadows in Scotland (2021), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science; (Diele, Huxham)

Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA (2021), Royal Society Open Science; (White)

Compartmentalization of bacterial and fungal microbiomes in the gut of adult honeybees (2021), npj Biofilms and Microbiomes; (Fusi)

Gregarine single-cell transcriptomics reveals differential mitochondrial remodeling and adaptation in apicomplexans (2021), BMC Biology; (Rueckert)

Local contributions to beta-diversity in urban pond networks: implications for biodiversity conservation and management (2021), Diversity and Distributions; (Briers)

Distribution and thermal niche of the common skate species complex in the north-east Atlantic (2020), Marine Ecology Progress Series; (Frost)

Pollinator importance networks illustrate the crucial value of bees in a highly speciose plant community (2020), Scientific Reports; (Ballantyne)

Missing the full story: First estimates of carbon deposition rates for the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis (2020), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems; (Diele)

Quantification of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacterial Abundances in Environmental Samples by Quantitative-PCR (2021), ; (Blaud)

Introducing the Mangrove Microbiome Initiative: Identifying Microbial Research Priorities and Approaches To Better Understand, Protect, and Rehabilitate Mangrove Ecosystems (2020), mSystems; (Fusi)

Edaphic factors and plants influence denitrification in soils from a long-term arable experiment (2020), Scientific Reports; (Blaud)

Hydrolytic Profile of the Culturable Gut Bacterial Community Associated with Hermetia illucens (2020), Frontiers in Microbiology; (Fusi)

Monitoring soil microbial communities using molecular tools: DNA extraction methods may offset long-term management effects (2021), European Journal of Soil Science; (Blaud)

Affordable and robust phenotyping framework to analyse root system architecture of soil-grown plants (2020), Plant Journal; (Giuffrida)

First genetic evidence that invasive bullhead (Cottus L. 1758) in Scotland is of English origin and the difficulty of resolving the European Cottus species taxonomy (2020), Journal of Fish Biology; (Rueckert)

Effects of urease and nitrification inhibitors on soil N, nitrifier abundance and activity in a sandy loam soil (2020), Biology and Fertility of Soils; (Blaud)

High Temperature and Crab Density Reduce Atmospheric Nitrogen Fixation in Red Sea Mangrove Sediments (2020), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science; (Fusi)

Response of a marine benthic invertebrate community and biotic indices to organic enrichment from sewage disposal (2019), Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom; (Briers)

A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research (2019), Nature Ecology & Evolution; (Fusi)

Developmental stages and gut microenvironments influence gut microbiota dynamics in the invasive beetle Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) (2019), Environmental Microbiology; (Fusi)

The pH optimum of soil exoenzymes adapt to long term changes in soil pH (2019), Soil Biology and Biochemistry; (Blaud)

Evolution: Parallel Paths to Parasitism in the Apicomplexa (2019), Current Biology; (Rueckert)

Environmental latitudinal gradients and host specificity shape Symbiodiniaceae distribution in Red Sea Porites corals (2019), Journal of Biogeography; (Fusi)

The symbiotic spectrum: where do the gregarines fit? (2019), Trends in Parasitology; (Rueckert)

Phenomics and Genomics Reveal Adaptation of Virgibacillus dokdonensis Strain 21D to Its Origin of Isolation, the Seawater-Brine Interface of the Mediterranean Sea Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basin Discovery (2019), Frontiers in Microbiology; (Fusi)

The role of fungi in heterogeneous sediment microbial networks (2019), Scientific Reports; (Fusi)

Seagrass removal leads to rapid changes in fauna and loss of carbon. (2019), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; (Huxham)

Microbes associated with fresh produce: sources, types and methods to reduce spoilage and contamination (2019), ; (Singleton)

Consistent bacterial selection by date palm root system across heterogeneous desert oasis agroecosystems (2019), Scientific Reports; (Fusi)

Fiddler crab bioturbation determines consistent changes in bacterial communities across contrasting environmental conditions (2019), Scientific Reports; (Fusi)

High denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation contributes to net nitrogen loss in a seagrass ecosystem in the central Red Sea (2018), Biogeosciences; (Fusi)

Rhizosheath microbial community assembly of sympatric desert speargrasses is independent of the plant host (2018), Microbiome; (Fusi)

The thin(ning) green line? Investigating changes in Kenya's seagrass coverage (2018), Biology Letters; (Huxham, Briers)

Morphology and molecular systematic of marine gregarines (Apicomplexa) from Southwestern Atlantic spionid polychaetes (2018), Journal of Invertebrate Pathology; (Rueckert)

Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes (2019), Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology; (Rueckert)

Analysing the effect of dietary prebiotics and probiotics on gut bacterial richness and diversity of Asian snakehead fingerlings using T-RFLP method (2018), Aquaculture Research; (Blaud)

Consistent patterns of high alpha and low beta diversity in tropical parasitic and free-living protists (2018), Molecular Ecology; (Rueckert)

Carbon in the coastal seascape: how interactions between mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes influence carbon storage (2018), Current Forestry Reports; (Huxham, Dencer-Brown)

The functional response and resilience in small waterbodies along land-use and environmental gradients (2018), Global Change Biology; (Briers)

Foraging plasticity of breeding Northern Rockhopper Penguins, Eudyptes moseleyi, in response to changing energy requirements (2018), Polar Biology; (Fusi)

Global phenological insensitivity to shifting ocean temperatures among seabirds (2018), Nature Climate Change; (Lewis)

The influence of aquaculture unit proximity on the pattern of Lepeophtheirus salmonis infection of anadromous Salmo trutta populations on the isle of Skye, Scotland (2018), Journal of Fish Biology; (Dodd)

Spatial zoning of microbial functions and plant-soil nitrogen dynamics across a riparian area in an extensively grazed livestock system (2018), Soil Biology and Biochemistry; (Blaud)

Interference competition as a key determinant for spatial distribution of mangrove crabs (2018), BMC Ecology; (Fusi)

Sources and contamination routes of microbial pathogens to fresh produce during field cultivation: A review (2018), Food Microbiology; (Singleton)

Sediment Temperature Impact on Population Structure and Dynamics of the Crab Austruca iranica Pretzmann, 1971 (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) in Subtropical Mangroves of the Persian Gulf (2018), Wetlands; (Diele)

Megasonic elution of waterborne protozoa enhances recovery rates (2018), Matters; (Kerrouche)

Community heterogeneity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in urban ponds at a multi-city scale (2018), Landscape Ecology; (Briers)

The stage of soil development modulates rhizosphere effect along a High Arctic desert chronosequence (2018), The ISME Journal; (Fusi)

Grapevine rootstocks shape underground bacterial microbiome and networking but not potential functionality (2018), Microbiome; (Fusi)

The abundance of nitrogen cycle genes and potential greenhouse gas fluxes depends on land use type and little on soil aggregate size (2018), Applied Soil Ecology; (Blaud)

Coinfection patterns of two marine apicomplexans are not associated with genetic diversity of their polychaete host (2022), Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology; (Rueckert)

Where to fish in the forest? Tree characteristics and contiguous seagrass features predict mangrove forest quality for fishes and crustaceans

Animal Behaviour & Evolution

Animal Behaviour includes how animals move, interact with other organisms/species, and with their environment. Behaviour can be inherited as well as learned, and often increases an organism’s survival and reproduction. Behavioural adaptations can improve species’ resilience to changing environments.

Projects

Nubian Ibex Genetics in Oman

Publications

Mammalian predators and vegetated nesting habitat drive reduced protected area nesting success of Kentish plovers, Yellow Sea region, China (2023), Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

Enzyme adaptation to habitat thermal legacy shapes the thermal plasticity of marine microbiomes (2023), Nature Communications; (Fusi)

Disturbance of primary producer communities disrupts the thermal limits of the associated aquatic fauna (2023), Science of The Total Environment; (Fusi)

The effect of urbanization and exposure to multiple environmental factors on life-history traits and breeding success of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) across China (2022), Avian Research; (Pagani-Nunez)

Variation and correlation in the timing of breeding of North Atlantic seabirds across multiple scales (2022), Journal of Animal Ecology; (Lewis)

Habitat selection of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) in the peri-coastal, urbanised landscape of Goa, India (2022), Mammal Research; (White)

Experimental sexual selection affects the evolution of physiological and life-history traits (2022), Journal of Evolutionary Biology; (Holman)

A migratory divide spanning two continents is associated with genomic and ecological divergence (2022), Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

Avian predators taste reject mimetic prey in relation to their signal reliability (2022), Scientific Reports; (Pagani-Nunez)

Dynamic trait-niche relationships shape niche partitioning across habitat transformation gradients (2022), Basic and Applied Ecology; (Pagani-Nunez)

A comment on 'The adaptive value of gluttony: predators mediate the life history trade-offs of satiation threshold' by Pruitt & Krauel (2010) (2021), Journal of Evolutionary Biology; (Holman)

Sexual selection affects the evolution of physiological and life history traits (2021), ; (Holman)

Breeding Great Tit Parus major Individuals have Moderately Consistent Foraging Niches Across Years (2021), Ardeola; (Pagani-Nunez)

Male-biased sexual selection, but not sexual dichromatism, predicts speciation in birds (2021), Evolution; (Holman)

How to become a generalist species? Individual niche variation across habitat transformation gradients (2020), Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

The impact of urbanization on body size of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis (2021), Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

No evidence for fitness signatures consistent with increasing trophic mismatch over 30-years in a population of European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis (2021), Journal of Animal Ecology; (Lewis)

The truth is in the detail: predators attack aposematic prey with less aggression than other prey types (2020), Biological Journal of the Linnean Society; (Pagani-Nunez)

Differences in dietary specialization, habitat use and susceptibility to human disturbance influence feeding rates and resource partitioning between two migratory Numenius curlew species (2020), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science; (Pagani-Nunez)

Combined effects of temperature and hypoxia shape female brooding behaviors and the early ontogeny of the Chilean kelp crab Taliepus dentatus (2020), Marine Ecology Progress Series; (Fusi)

Sibling rivalry versus mother's curse: can kin competition facilitate a response to selection on male mitochondria? (2020), Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; (Holman)

Component processes of detection probability in camera-trap studies: understanding the occurrence of false-negatives (2020), Mammal Research; (White, Briers)

Social interactions in striped hyena inferred from camera trap data: is it more social than previously thought? (2020), Current Zoology; (Gilchrist)

An X-linked meiotic drive allele has strong, recessive fitness costs in female Drosophila pseudoobscura (2019), Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; (Holman)

Mother's curse and indirect genetic effects: Do males matter to mitochondrial genome evolution? (2020), Journal of Evolutionary Biology; (Holman)

Fitness consequences of the selfish supergene Segregation Distorter (2020), Journal of Evolutionary Biology; (Holman)

Evolutionary simulations of Z-linked suppression gene drives (2019), Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; (Holman)

Genetic, phenotypic and ecological differentiation suggests incipient speciation in two Charadrius plovers along the Chinese coast (2019), BMC Evolutionary Biology; (Pagani-Nunez)

Meta-analytic evidence that sexual selection improves population fitness (2019), Nature Communications; (Holman)

Niches in the Anthropocene: passerine assemblages show niche expansion from natural to urban habitats (2019), Ecography; (Pagani-Nunez)

Comparative transcriptomics of social insect queen pheromones (2019), Nature Communications; (Holman)

A Comparison of Blood Biochemical Parameters as a Tool to Measure Welfare in Free-ranging Red Deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) after Chemical and Physical Restraint (2019), Current Science; (Fusi)

Visitor Perceptions of Captive, Endangered Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) Used as Photo Props in Jemaa El Fna Square, Marrakech, Morocco (2018), AnthrozoÃ¶s; (Mackinnon)

Isotopic niche overlap between the invasive leiothrix and potential native competitors (2018), Animal Biodiversity and Conservation; (Pagani-Nunez)

Breath rate of passerines across an urbanization gradient supports the pace-of-life hypothesis and suggests diet mediated responses to handling stress (2018), Ecology and evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

Evolution of female choice under intralocus sexual conflict and genotype-by-environment interactions (2018), Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences; (Holman)

Life stage-specific, stochastic environmental effects overlay density dependence in an Atlantic salmon population (2019), Ecology of Freshwater Fish; (Dodd)

Age and sex differences in niche use at molt and its effect on plumage coloration characteristics in a bird (2019), Current zoology; (Pagani-Nunez)

Onwards and upwards: a response to comments on Holman (2018), Behavioral Ecology; (Holman)

Queen pheromones and reproductive division of labor: a meta-analysis (2018), Behavioral Ecology; (Holman)

Incubation behaviour of a high-altitude species: the Fire-tailed Sunbird Aethopyga ignicauda (2018), Bird Study; (Pagani-Nunez)

Are vocal characteristics related to leadership patterns in mixed species bird flocks? (2018), Journal of Avian Biology; (Pagani-Nunez)

Building a new research framework for social evolution: intralocus caste antagonism (2018), Biological Reviews; (Holman)

The impact of urbanization on body size of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica gutturalis (2021), Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

Sexual selection affects the evolution of physiological and life history traits (2021), ; (Holman)

Citizen Science

Citizen science is an approach that enables public participation and collaboration in scientific research and improves data coverage and knowledge sharing.

Projects

West of Scotland Herring Hunt (WOSHH)

Optimizing Citizen-Science Tools for Mangrove Crab Fisheries Magement in Brazil

Local Roots and Global Branches: Protecting Blue Carbon Ecosystems under Community-based Management

Online Plant Identification Training for Water of Leith Conservation Trust

Improving Science-Informed Crab Fisheries Magement in Brazil

Production of final version smartphone application and data queries for citizen science research in Brazil to improve mangrove crab fisheries management

Publications

Citizen crowds and experts: observer variability in image-based plant phenotyping (2018), Plant Methods; (Giuffrida)

Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Monitoring ecosystems through recording and analysing their sounds is a non-destructive way to gather information about the environment and the species which are present. Many species, from songbirds to fish and crabs, make sound and often use it for communication and finding a good place to live. Acoustic monitoring facilitates information gathering over large spatial and time scales, helping to assess changes in the biological and physical environment.

Projects

Easter Beltie Ecological Restoration Monitoring Research

Riparian noise and environmental quality in urban freshwater ecosystems

First Recordings of the Soundscape of Pristine European Flat Oyster Reefs

Marine Soundscapes and eDNA for Assessing Biodiversity and Functioning of Re-establishing European Flat Oyster Reefs, Ostrea edulis

Continuous Monitoring of Marine Soundscapes: Assessing Anthropogenic Noise Near Breeding Seabird Colonies

Publications

Marine invertebrates and noise (2023), Frontiers in Marine Science; (Wale)

From DNA to ecological performance: Effects of anthropogenic noise on a reef-building mussel (2019), Science of The Total Environment; (Wale, Briers, Diele)

Remote Sensing

Remote sensing allows the collection of data form a distance, e.g. using drones or satellites. It is a powerful surveying tool, for example, to assess habitat change.

Projects

Publications

The Graphene Field Effect Transistor Modeling Based on an Optimized Ambipolar Virtual Source Model for DNA Detection (2021), Applied Sciences; (La Spada)

Plant phenotyping on-demand: an integrative web-based framework using drones and participatory sensing in greenhouses (2021), ; (Giuffrida)

The diel activity pattern of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on managed heather moorland in Scotland (2021), Ecology and Evolution; (Gilchrist)

Towards the Development of Rapid and Low-Cost Pathogen Detection Systems Using Microfluidic Technology and Optical Image Processing (2020), Applied Sciences; (Kerrouche)

The geoengineering approach to the study of rivers and reservoirs (2019), Geological Society Special Publications; (Barreto Gonzales)

Pheno-Deep Counter: a unified and versatile deep learning architecture for leaf counting (2018), The Plant Journal; (Giuffrida)

A test of the cumulative effect of river weirs on downstream migration success, speed and mortality of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts: An empirical study (2019), Ecology of Freshwater Fish; (Dodd)

Citizen crowds and experts: observer variability in image-based plant phenotyping (2018), Plant Methods; (Giuffrida)

Assessment of the accuracy of counting large ungulate species (red deer Cervus elaphus) with UAV mounted thermal infrared cameras during night flights (2023), Wildlife Biology; (White)

Smart Technologies

‘Smart’ in smart technologies stands for ‘Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology’. For example, a smart robot is an artificial intelligence system that learns from its surrounding and ‘evolves’ through learning and knowledge. Smart robots can help monitor the environment and animal behaviour.

Projects

Red light from blue carbon: Assessing photosynthetic activity of submerged primary producers

Subjective orientation in VR audio

Long-Term Monitoring for Environmental Conservation and Restoration Using Adaptable Robots: Identification and Collation of End User Needs

Towards Guided Self-Organisation in Artificial Complex Systems: A Swarm Robotics Case Study

Designing a smart system for pathogens detection in bathing waters

Development of an Early Warning System for Pathogen Detection in Aquaculture Facilities

Autonomous Robot Evolution: Cradle to Grave

Publications

A Quality-Diversity Approach to Evolving a Repertoire of Diverse Behaviour-Trees in Robot Swarms (2023), ; (Hart)

Augmenting Novelty Search with a Surrogate Model to Engineer Meta-Diversity in Ensembles of Classifiers (2022), Applications of Evolutionary Computation: EvoApplications; (Hart)

Lifelong Learning Machines: Towards Developing Optimisation Systems That Continually Learn (2022), ; (Hart)

Artificial evolution of robot bodies and control: on the interaction between evolution, individual and cultural learning (2022), Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences; (Hart, Le Goff)

Evolution of Diverse, Manufacturable Robot Body Plans (2020), ; (Hart, Le Goff)

Towards Autonomous Robot Evolution (2021), ; (Hart)

Bootstrapping artificial evolution to design robots for autonomous fabrication (2020), Robotics; (Le Goff, Hart)

On Pros and Cons of Evolving Topologies with Novelty Search (2020), ; (Hart, Le Goff)

Sample and time efficient policy learning with CMA-ES and Bayesian Optimisation (2020), ; (Hart, Le Goff)

Component processes of detection probability in camera-trap studies: understanding the occurrence of false-negatives (2020), Mammal Research; (White, Briers)

Evolution of a Functionally Diverse Swarm via a Novel Decentralised Quality-Diversity Algorithm (2018), ; (Hart)

On the performance of the hybridisation between migrating birds optimisation variants and differential evolution for large scale continuous problems (2018), Expert Systems with Applications; (Hart)

Leveraging multiple datasets for deep leaf counting (2018), ; (Giuffrida)

Assessment of the accuracy of counting large ungulate species (red deer Cervus elaphus) with UAV mounted thermal infrared cameras during night flights (2023), Wildlife Biology; (White)

Morpho-evolution with learning using a controller archive as an inheritance mechanism (2022), IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems; (Le Goff, Hart)

The ARE Robot Fabricator: How to (Re)produce Robots that Can Evolve in the Real World (2019), ; (Hart)

Environmental Informatics

Environmental informatics is the field of research and system development focusing on the collection, processing, management and sharing of environmental data and information (using e.g., artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, statistical codes etc).