Dr Allan Watt

Deputy Science Director, Biodiversity Programme

Research interests

My research interests focus on two areas – the science underpinning the conservation of biodiversity and the management of forest pests. I am currently involved in three European (EU-funded) projects on biodiversity (see below) and have previously worked on biodiversity in tropical forests.

I am particularly interested in developing methods for monitoring biodiversity (indicators and rapid biodiversity assessment) and in quantifying the impact of land use change on biodiversity e.g. forest clearance and conversion to plantations. I also currently work on the pine beauty moth, the most serious pest of established forests in the UK, and have previously worked on pests such as the mahogany shoot borer.

I am currently the co-editor of Agricultural and Forest Entomology.

Major current projects:

BioAssess – developing tools for assessing biodiversity and quantifying the impact of land use change on biodiversity in Europe.

BIOFORUM – a forum for scientists and stakeholders concerned about conflicts between the conservation of biodiversity and human activities

BioPlatform – linking scientists and policy-makers working on biodiversity in Europe

International cooperation:

European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy – meetings held during each European Presidency on biodiversity

The BEAR project – developing indicators for biodiversity in European forests

BORNET - A network of researchers, forest managers and government representatives concerned with biological diversity in boreal countries 

Ad hoc Technical Expert Group on Biological Diversity and Climate Change 

European Community Biodiversity Experts Group .

Selected publications

See also the NERC Open Research Archive.

Watt, A.D., Stork, N.E. and Bolton, B. (2002). The diversity and abundance of ants in relation to forest disturbance and plantation establishment in southern Cameroon. Journal of Applied Ecology 18: 39: 18-30.

Watt, A.D. and McFarlane, A.M. (2002) Will climate change have a different impact on different trophic levels? Phenological development of winter moth Operophtera brumata and its host plants. Ecological Entomology 27: 254-256.

Bale et al. (2002). Herbivory in global climate change research: direct effects of rising temperature on insect herbivores. Global Change Biology 8: 1-16.

Hicks, B.J., Barbour, D. A., Cosens, D. and Watt, A.D. (2001) The influence of weather on populations of the pine beauty moth and its fungal diseases in Scotland. Scottish Forestry 55: 199-207

Hicks, B. J., Barbour, D. A., Evans, H. F., Heritage, S., Leather, S. R., Milne R. and Watt A. D. (2001) The history and control of the pine beauty moth, Panolis flammea (D&S), (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Scotland from 1976 to 2000 Agricultural and Forest Entomology 3: 161-168

Selected books

Speight, M. R., Hunter, M. D. and Watt A. D. 1999 Ecology of Insects: Concepts and Applications. Blackwell Science, Oxford.

Esteban, J.A., Costello, M.J., Larsson, T.-B., Nowicki, P.L., Svensson, L., Troumbis, A.Y. & Watt, A.D. 1999. Research and Biodiversity A Step Forward. Government of Catalonia, Barcelona.

Watt, A. D., Stork, N. E. and Hunter, M. D. (eds.). 1997. Forests and Insects. - Chapman and Hall, London