About
Professor David Raffaelli is a leading environmental scientist at the University of York's Department of Environment and Geography. He serves as Director of the Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Sustainability (BEES) NERC programme and previously led UKPopNet (a NERC-funded collaborative center) and the international bioSUSTAINABILITY project. His research focuses on ecosystem ecology, food web dynamics, biodiversity-function relationships, and interdisciplinary environmental management.
His roles include membership in NERC strategy boards, editorship of journals like Journal of Animal Ecology, and advisory roles in global initiatives such as DIVERSITAS. He collaborates internationally with institutions in Europe, North America, and Australasia. His work addresses critical issues like sustainable land use, ecosystem service valuation, and the science-policy interface.
Research Highlights: Explores marine, freshwater, and terrestrial systems; investigates biodiversity's role in ecosystem functioning; develops tools for ecosystem health assessment; and applies ecological principles to policy decisions. Recent projects include studies on nitrogen vulnerable zones, pharmaceutical impacts in aquatic systems, and mangrove estuary modeling.
Supervision: Actively mentors over 20 PhD students, focusing on topics such as biodiversity valuation, ecosystem approaches to management, and climate change impacts. His grants total over £13M, including major NERC and Defra-funded initiatives.
Labs/Teams: Leads BEES, UKPopNet, and interdisciplinary teams in the Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (ACES). His work bridges ecological science with socio-economic dimensions for sustainable development.
