Centre for Conservation Science
We do this by identifying the most important problems, discovering their possible causes, testing potential solutions to those causes and ensuring that they work when implemented. We work both throughout the UK and overseas alongside a wide range of funders and partners.
What we do
Featured research
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![RSPB Nene Washes Nature Reserve, reintroducing the Corncrake Crex crex to the reserve, Cambridgeshire]()
UK Species
We identify species of greatest conservation concern from surveys and monitoring. Subsequent research often aims to identify causes of population declines and test potential solutions.
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![Male Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus. Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.]()
Upland
Our research in upland systems focuses on understanding the changes in bird populations and their habitats.
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![RSPB's Hope farm, at the time of the wheat harvest, Knapwell, Cambridgeshire]()
Agriculture
To address continuing agricultural change and the pressures it places on wildlife, we operate a large and varied research and monitoring programme across all types of UK farmland.
Meet the team
Publications
Latest posts - saving species
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Protecting Kazakhstan’s grasslands steppes in face of future uncertainty
The Kazakh Steppe ecoregion is a vast area of open grassland in Kazakhstan. Home to many unique species, it is also under increasing pressure. A team of staff, including scientists from the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science, visited the region b...
Posted 11/08/2022 by Vanessa Amaral-Rogers -
Conservation interventions: what works for waders?
Blog by Sean Jellesmark, an Inspire4nature PhD student at University College of London and the Zoological Society of London, working in collaboration with the RSPB. Across Europe, wader populations (order Charadriiformes) are declining at alarming ra...
Posted 02/08/2022 by Vanessa Amaral-Rogers -
Using moths and birds to investigate the impacts of forest restoration on biodiversity
The Cairngorms Connect partnership is a bold and ambitious 200-year vision to enhance habitats, species and ecological processes across a vast area within the Cairngorms National Park. Christina Hunt is the Centre for Conservation Science’s Conservat...
Posted 12/07/2022 by Vanessa Amaral-Rogers -
The Seabird Monitoring Programme is changing
From this month, the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) will be changing in how it’s being run. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has formed a partnership with the BTO and RSPB, to run this crucial project monitoring the UK’s internation...
Posted 04/07/2022 by Vanessa Amaral-Rogers
Conservation Science Awards
The RSPBs three annual awards to recognise and celebrate excellence in conservation science.
The State of the UK's Birds
Downloads
The State of Nature in the UK and its Overseas Territories. PDF, 8.3Mb
State of Nature 2016The SUKB report, is a one-stop shop for all the latest results from annual, periodic and one-off surveys and monitoring programmes. PDF, 2.5Mb
State of the UK's birds 2016The annual report of the Wetland Bird Survey. PDF, 5Mb
Waterbirds in the UK 2014-2015This case study focuses on the evidence available in support of the RSPB's position on renewables. PDF, 542Kb
Case study no 15: Renewable energy and conservation sciencePart of a collection that aims to highlight RSPB science from the last decade. PDF, 389Kb
Case study no 16: Climate change researchUnderstanding woodland bird declines. PDF, 392Kb
Case Study No. 17: Can not see the wood for the trees!The UK's leading bird conservation organisations have worked together to review the status of birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. PDF, 1.7Mb
Bird of conservation concern 4Working with us
