Philipp Boersch-Supan

Principal Ecological Statistician

Philipp Boersch-Supan

Contact

Philipp leads a team of statisticians and quantitive ecologists who champion a culture of thoughtful and robust data analysis at the BTO and in the wider conservation science community.  He oversees the development and implementation of new statistical techniques and leads a programme of statistical research, covering topics such as the design of biodiversity surveys, analyses of large-scale and long-term datasets and the evaluation of monitoring technology.

Interests & Responsibilities

Philipp is broadly interested in using statistical and mathematical models to better understand the physical and biological processes that shape the distribution and movements of animals, their foraging and migration behaviours, and their life-history strategies.

His work combines theoretical and computational approaches with surveys and field experiments.  Recent applications have had a strong focus on integrating biodiversity monitoring and/or life-history data from multiple sources to better understand avian population dynamics in changing climates and landscapes, and on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of sensor-based monitoring technologies, particularly in the context of offshore renewable energy developments.

Other Information

  • Guest Lecturer at the University of Cambridge's Zoology Department
  • Senior Editor for Animal Conservation
  • Fellow of the Software Sustainability Institute

Qualifications

Vordiplom in Chemistry, University of Marburg (2006-2008)
MRes in Environmental Biology, University of St Andrews (2010)
PhD in Marine Biology ‘The ecology of scattering layer biota around Indian Ocean seamounts and islands’, University of St Andrews (2014)

Recent BTO Publications

Davies, J.G., Boersch-Supan, P.H., Clewley, G.D., Humphreys, E.M., O’Hanlon, N.J., Shamoun-Baranes, J., Thaxter, C.B., Weston, E. & Cook, A.S.C.P. 2024. Influence of wind on kittiwake Rissa tridactyla flight and offshore wind turbine collision risk. Marine Biology 171 View at journal website (DOI: 10.1007/s00227-024-04508-0)
Border, J.A., Boersch-Supan, P., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Hewson, C., Howard, C., Stephens, P.A., Willis, S.G., Houston, A., Gargallo, G. & Baillie, S.R. 2024. Spatial variation in spring arrival patterns of Afro-Palearctic bird migration across Europe. Global Ecology and Biogeography View at journal website (DOI: 10.1111/geb.13850)
Boersch-Supan, P.H., Brighton, C.H., Thaxter, C.B. & Cook, A.S.C.P. 2024. Natural body size variation in seabirds provides a fundamental challenge for flight height determination by single-camera photgrammetry. A comment on Humphries et al. 2023. Marine Biology View at journal website (DOI: 10.1007/s00227-024-04396-4)
O’Hanlon, N.J., Harris, S.J., Thaxter, C.B., Boersch-Supan, P.H., Robinson, R.A., Balmer, D.E. & Burton, N.H.K. 2024. Seabird population and demographic monitoring in the UK: a review and recommendations for future sampling. Research Report no. 754. ISBN: 978-1-912642-49-6
Brighton, C.H., Massimino, D., Boersch-Supan, P., Barnes, A.E., Martay, B., Bowler, D.E., Hoskins, H.M.J. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2024. The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition. Biological Conservation 292 View at journal website (DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110553)
Boersch-Supan, P.H., Hanmer, H.J. & Robinson, R.A. 2024. Extended moult phenology models improve inferences about moult duration and timing. Ornithology View at journal website (DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae003)
View all BTO publications for this author

Other Publications

Boersch-Supan PH, Johnson LR. 2018. Two case studies detailing Bayesian inference for dynamic energy budget models. Journal of Sea Research in press.

Boersch-Supan PH, Johnson LR, Phillips RA, Ryan SJ. 2018. Surface temperatures of albatross eggs and nests. Emu - Austral Ornithology 118(2):224-229.

Borrelle SB, Boersch-Supan PH, Gaskin CP, Towns DR. 2018. Influences on recovery of seabirds to islands eradicated of invasive predators, with a focus on Procellariiformes. Oryx 52:346-358.

Johnson LR, Boersch-Supan PH, Phillips RA, Ryan SJ. 2017. Changing measurements or changing movements? Sampling scale and movement model identifiability across multiple generations of biologging technology. Ecology and Evolution 7:9257–9266.

Sydeman WJ, Thompson SA, Anker-Nilssen T, Arimitsu M, Bennison A, Bertrand S, Boersch-Supan P, Boyd C, Bransome NC, Crawford RJ, Daunt F, Furness RW, Gianuca D, Gladics A, Koehn L, Lang JW, Logerwell E, Morris TL, Phillips EM, Provencher J, Punt AE, Saraux C, Shannon L, Sherley RB, Simeone A, Wanless RM, Wanless S, Zador S. 2017. Best Practices for Assessing Forage Fish Fisheries - Seabird Resource Competition. Fisheries Research 194:209–221.

Boersch-Supan PH, Ryan SJ, Johnson LR. 2016. deBInfer: Bayesian inference for dynamical models of biological systems in R. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 8:511–518

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