Carnivore ecology
Biodiversity monitoring
Human-wildlife interactions
Institute of Zoology
Zoological Society of London
Regent's Park
NW1 4RY
Tel: 020 7449 6634
Chris Carbone's research combines theoretical approaches and comparative analyses to look at broad-scale patterns in ecology related to body size, diet and community structure.
He has also worked on a wide range of projects examining human-wildlife co-existence, particularly focusing on the impacts of altered landscapes on wildlife ecology and species richness. His research includes examining ways to improve wildlife monitoring methods, particularly focusing on the use of camera traps to estimate mammalian abundance and biodiversity. In 2016 he founded the London HogWatch Project, which uses camera trap surveys and other data to understand the distributions of hedgehogs and other mammal species across greater London. This work supports a wider interest in urban ecosystems and urban communities.
In addition to his role as Professor at the Institute of Zoology, Chris also holds roles as the Doctoral Training Programmes Coordinator, Senior Management Board Member, Covid Working Group Member, and Founder of London HogWatch.
Project collaborations
London HogWatch Project supports hedgehog surveys conducted in over half of London boroughs and engaging over 2500 survey volunteers, with funding from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, South London Partnership, and other donations.
The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, UK-wide pilot programme, that will establish 40 long-term monitoring sites s assess population trends of hedgehogs and a wide range of co-occuring mammal and bird species, with funding from Natural England, People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
The IN SINC Projects 1 & 2, Community engagement, to improve habitat corridors in North London, funded by Rewild London Fund and Heath Hands.
Network Rail Biodiversity Monitoring Project, a collaboration between Network Rail Southern Region and ZSL to develop methodology and assess mammal and bird biodiversity in NR lands.
- 2023-present: Professor, Institute of Zoology, ZSL
- 2005-2022: Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, ZSL.
- 1998-2004: Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, ZSL.
- 1998: Research Fellow, Wildlife Conservation Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
- 1994-1997: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe.
- 1992-1994: Royal Society European Exchange Postdoctoral Fellowship & Austrian Academy of Sciences Fellowship, Konrad Lorenz Institute, Vienna.
Editorial Boards
Animal Conservation (2000-2007)
Mammalian Biology (2010-2013)
Frontiers in Mammal Science (2022)
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2022)
Mammal Review (2023)
Honorary Professor University College London, (2023)
Honorary Senior Research Fellow University College London, (2012-2019)
Honorary Associate Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal (2016)
International Observer, Government of India “All-India tigers, co-predators and prey” (2006 and 2018);
Senior Scientific Advisor - UK Associates for Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (2018-present).
Consultation Expert Environmental Degradation & Conservation (UK Department for International Development) (2018);
Review Panel - 21st Century Tiger (2008-2018)
Environmental Consultant to PT Asiatic Persada, PACRIM, Indonesia, on Sumatran tigers (2001);
Senior advisory roles: Member Lord Burns’ Committee Inquiry into hunting with dogs in England and Wales (2000)
Ament, J. M., Carbone, C., Crees, J. J., Freeman, R., & Turvey, S. T. (2023). Anthropogenic predictors of varying Holocene occurrence for Europe’s large mammal fauna. Biology Letters. (in press)
Lovell, C., Li, S., Turner, J., & Carbone, C. (2022). The effect of habitat and human disturbance on the spatiotemporal activity of two urban carnivores: The results of an intensive camera trap study. Ecology and Evolution, 12(3), e8746.
Turner, J., Freeman, R., & Carbone, C. (2022). Using citizen science to understand and map habitat suitability for a synurbic mammal in an urban landscape: the hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. Mammal Review, 52(2), 291–303
Jones, A. K., Blockley, S. P. E., Schreve, D. C., & Carbone, C. (2021). Environmental factors influencing spotted hyena and lion population biomass across Africa. Ecology and Evolution, 11(23), 17219–17237.
Healy, K., Carbone, C., & Jackson, A. L. (2019). Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure. Ecology Letters, 22(3), 527–537
Ferreira, G. B., Collen, B., Newbold, T., Oliveira, M. J. R., Pinheiro, M. S., de Pinho, F. F., … Carbone, C. (2020). Strict protected areas are essential for the conservation of larger and threatened mammals in a priority region of the Brazilian Cerrado. Biological Conservation, 251, 108762
Tucker, M. A., Santini, L., Carbone, C., & Mueller, T. (2021). Mammal population densities at a global scale are higher in human-modified areas. Ecography, 44(1), 1–13
Crees, J. J., Turvey, S. T., Freeman, R., & Carbone, C. (2019). Mammalian tolerance to humans is predicted by body mass: evidence from long-term archives. Ecology, 100(9), 1–10
Rizzuto, M., Carbone, C., & Pawar, S. (2018). Foraging constraints reverse the scaling of activity time in carnivores. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(2), 247–253.
Carbone, C., Codron, D., Scofield, C., Clauss, M., & Bielby, J. (2014). Geometric factors influencing the diet of vertebrate predators in marine and terrestrial environments. Ecology Letters, 17(12), 1553–1559.
Bateman, I. J., Coombes, E., Fitzherbert, E., Binner, A., Bad’ura, T., Carbone, C., … Watkinson, A. R. (2015). Conserving tropical biodiversity via market forces and spatial targeting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(24), 7408–7413
Ben Evans - NERC PhD Studentship
Jessica Turner - NERC PhD Studentship
Zosia Ladds - NERC PhD Studentship
Connor Lovell - NERC Studentship
Shuiqing He - Overseas Studentship
Francis Windram - NERC PhD Studentship
- Dr. Liam Nash
- Dr. Guilherme Braga Ferreira, Brazilian Government funded PhD. Assessing changes in mammal diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado, UCL, London.
- Dr. Angharad Jones
- Dr. Judith Ament, London NERC DTP. Human-wildlife coexistence: understanding causes of vulnerability and resilience to human population. ZSL/UCL, London
- Dr. Sahil Nijhawan, Panthera funded PhD. Tigers, tribal cultures and dams in Arunachal Pradesh, UCL, London.
- Dr. Philip Chapman, NERC funded PhD. Implications of habitat disturbance on mammalian dispersal: SAFE Project, Borneo, Imperial College, London.
- Dr Nick Dunn, Developing environmental DNA methods to assess the distribution of cryptic sharks and rays. Imperial College, London