Miguel Franco

Dr. Miguel Franco is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth’s School of Biological and Marine Sciences, part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. His work focuses on plant demography, conservation biology, ecological modeling, and biodiversity conservation, with contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to life on land and climate action. Franco has supervised numerous international PhD students researching plant and animal conservation, including studies on palm species, cacti, and African medicinal plants.

His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate programs, covering modules such as Conservation Biology, Ecology, and Botanical Conservation. He has contributed to programs like the MSc Biological Diversity and MRes Botanical Conservation. Franco’s research integrates demographic models, species distribution analysis, and climate change impacts, particularly on raptors and plant species.

Key research themes include habitat use of Neotropical eagles, plant invasion dynamics, and the application of structured population models. His work emphasizes bridging ecological theory with conservation practice, including the development of tools like the nlstimedist R package for phenological analysis.

• Supervised Students: 9 PhD students across institutions like the National University of Mexico and University of Plymouth, focusing on plant demography and conservation.
• Labs/Teams: Active contributor to the Compadre Plant Matrix Database, a global repository for plant demographic data.