Two projects led by the University of Exeter have been awarded seed funding by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA).
Sponsored by the UK government, ARIA funds "breakthrough research and development in underexplored areas to catalyse new paths to prosperity for the UK and the world".
The new funding comes from ARIA's Engineering Ecosystem Resilience opportunity space, which is exploring if combining high-resolution measurement with targeted, resilience-boosting interventions could reverse biodiversity decline and prevent ecological collapse.
The Exeter-led projects are:
- Predictive foundational AI for ecosystem resilience forecasting. Future conservation requires a "predictive ecology revolution" - and AI models can now surpass existing models by combining complex environmental data. This project will produce digital representations of future climate up to the year 2100. The team - which includes ZSL (The Zoological Society of London) - will focus on UK seabirds, and undertake new studies of important habitats for seabirds at the UK's warming edge on the Isles of Scilly. The overall aim is to create a globally scalable toolkit for predicting future habitat suitability, identifying populations at risk of local extinction, and highlighting places where targeted interventions could improve resilience.
- Developing a machine learning method to spatially optimise habitats for genetic diversity. Genetic diversity helps species survive and adapt to environmental change. Predicting diversity for ecosystems is complex, and as a result is under-considered when protecting or restoring habitats. Working with partners at the University of Oregon, the team will develop new machine learning tools to help design landscapes that better support genetic diversity across multiple species. By revealing general principles that link landscape structure to genetic diversity, this work aims to make genetic diversity a more practical consideration in conservation planning.
Dr Alice Trevail, who leads the seabirds project, said: "We're excited to get started on this project. This ARIA funding gives us a great opportunity to advance predictive conservation ecology for UK seabirds, and connect with other researchers working at the cutting edge of ecosystem resilience."
