I study how modern agricultural practices impact ecosystems, and want to help develop and establish practices that benefit biodiversity while being practicable for farmers.
As a biologist I am particularly interested in birds, both because I enjoy watching them personally and because they are important indicator species. At the same time,
I always see agriculture as a socio-ecological system, an intertwined relationship between humans and nature. This means that I find it important to regularly talk to farmers,
and to consider the wider societal, economic, and ethical implications of my work.
Software engineering in ecological modelling
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Modelling
For me, programming started out as a high school hobby, but is now one of my most important scientific skills. I develop individual-based models in order to inform
conservation action and policy. This requires not only careful scientific working, but also best-practice software engineering in order to ensure the reliability of
the results. I have learnt a lot from computer scientists and other environmental modelling disciplines, and want to use my technical expertise to help other ecological
modellers build better software.
Christian ethics and biodiversity conservation
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Ethics
As a Christian, I do my work as a conservation biologist because I believe we have a God-given mandate to be good stewards of creation. Conservation biology is a strongly
values-driven discipline (cf. Soulé, 1985) that does not only seek to study nature, but to effect societal changes to protect it. Therefore, it is vital for every conservation
biologist to think about what their values are, what these are based on, and which consequences arise from them. Additionally, we need to learn to engage with people of other
world-views and value systems, especially people outside the “environmental movement”. My Christian faith provides the necessary ethical basis for my scientific work, and
simultaneously offers me a bridge to communicate scientific results to audiences who may be sceptical of scientists who do not share their worldview and values.