Dr Christopher O'Bryan (C.J.)
My lab researches the link between biodiversity conservation and human society. This includes understanding the effects of our overexploitation of natural resources, quantifying the unique benefits that wildlife provide to human health and food security, and helping governments make better conservation decisions.
Much of the work in my lab is interdisciplinary, including topics such as ecology, conservation, biogeography, decision science, and social science.
We strive to make our research accessible to both the scientific community and the general public. As such, our papers have been published in high-quality peer-reviewed scientific journals like Nature Ecology & Evolution, Global Change Biology, and Ecology Letters.
Because of the timeliness of our work, we have been featured in media outlets such as The Guardian, Scientific American, ABC News, and Wired Magazine and has been cited in national and global environmental policy.
If you are interested in working in the lab or have any questions, please email me at c.obryan@maastrichtuniversity.nl
- Biodiversity conservation
- Biogeography
- Decision theory
- Human-wildlife conflict
- Invasive species
- Spatial analysis
- Wildlife ecology
I am an Assistant Professor of Planetary Health within the System Earth Science Research Institute at UM.
I have a background in wildlife ecology, biogeography, and conservation science. Prior to UM, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Associate Lecturer at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. I have led research on the global impacts of human development on wildlife, the implications of invasive species for climate change, and how to improve conservation decision-making. I have also coordinated two courses on Environmental Problem Solving.
PhD in Conservation Biology from The University of Queensland
MSc in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Clemson University
BSc in Biology from Austin Peay University
