Alumni
		DR SIMON BUTLER Research Fellow
		Career
		1995 – 1998 1998 – 2000 2000 – 2001 2001 – 2004 2004 – 2006 2006 – 2011 BSc University of Nottingham Conservation Biologist, Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF) MRes University of York DPhil University of Oxford Research Biologist, RSPB Research Fellow, Centre for Agri-Environmental Research Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences,University of East Anglia
		Research Interests Biodiversity risk assessment - predicting the impacts of agricultural land-use and management change on biodiversity Farmland bird ecology and conservation - identifying sources of risk in agricultural landscapes and targeting the delivery of appropriate mitigation measures How much is enough? Quantifying niche space requirements and area thresholds associated with stable population trends Objective indicator species selection The predation / starvation risk trade-off and its influence on foraging site selection CÆR Projects EnergyScapes and Ecosystem Services – exploring the interactions between renewable energy production and ecosystem services to guide the deployment of land-based renewables Designer niches - a novel approach to assessing the impacts of agricultural change on biodiversity at multiple spatial scales Assessing the environmental impact of crop production practice: beyond the GM crop farm-scale evaluation Developing a risk assessment framework for European farmland birds Understanding the demographic mechanisms underlying effective deployment of winter prescriptions for farmland bird recovery Publications to 2011 Amar, A., Smith, K. W., Butler, S. J., Lindsell, J. A., Hewson, C. M., Fuller, R. J. & Charman, E. C. (2010) Recent patterns of change in vegetation structure and tree composition of British broadleaved woodland: evidence from large-scale surveys. Forestry, in press Scholefield, P., Firbank, L., Butler, S.J., Norris, K., Jones, L.M. & Petit, S. (2010) Modelling the European Farmland Bird Indicator in response to forecast land-use change in Europe. Ecological Indicators, in press Butler, S. J., Boccaccio, L., Gregory, R. D., Vorisek, P. & Norris, K. (2010) Quantifying the impact of land-use change on European farmland bird populations. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 137, 348-357 Butler, S.J., Mattison, E.H.A., Glithero, N.J., Robinson, L.J., Atkinson, P.W., Gillings, S., Vickery, J.A. & Norris, K. (2010) Resource availability and the persistence of seed-eating bird populations in agricultural landscapes: a mechanistic modelling approach. Journal of Applied Ecology 47, 67-75 Butler, S.J., Brooks, D., Feber, R.E., Storkey, J., Vickery, J.A. & Norris, K. (2009) A cross-taxonomic index for quantifying the health of farmland biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology 46, 1154-1162 Butler, S.J., Benton, T.G., Nicoll, M.A.C., Jones, C.G. & Norris, K. (2009) Indirect population dynamic benefits of altered life-history trade-offs in response to egg harvesting. American Naturalist, 174, 111-121 Butler, S.J., Vickery, J.A. & Norris, K. (2007) Farmland biodiversity and the footprint of agriculture. Science, 315, 381-384. Click here for abstract. Click here for full article Butler, S.J., Vickery, J.A. & Norris, K. (2007) A risk assessment framework for evaluating progress towards sustainability targets. Aspects of Applied Biology, 81, Delivering Arable Biodiversity, 317-323 Quinn, J.L., Whittingham, M.J., Butler, S.J. & Cresswell, W. (2006) Noise, predation risk compensation and vigilance in the chaffinch Fringilla coelebs. Journal of Avian Biology, 37, 601-608 Amar, A., Hewson, C.M., Thewlis, R.M., Smith, K.W., Fuller, R.J., Lindsell, J.A., Conway, G., Butler, S.J. & MacDonald, M.A. (2006) What’s happening to our woodland birds? Long-term changes in the populations of woodland. BTO Research Report 169/RSPB Research Report 19 Butler, S.J., Whittingham, M.J., Quinn, J.L. & Cresswell, W. (2006) Time in captivity, individual differences and foraging behaviour in wild-caught chaffinches. Behaviour, 143, 535-548 Butler, S.J., Bradbury, R.B. & Whittingham, M.J. (2005) Stubble height affects the use of stubble fields by farmland birds. Journal of Applied Ecology 42, 469-476 Butler, S.J., Whittingham, M.J., Quinn, J.L. & Cresswell, M.J. (2005) Quantifying the interaction between food density and habitat structure in determining patch selection. Animal Behaviour 69, 337-343 Butler, S.J. & Gillings, S. (2004) Quantifying the effects of habitat structure on prey detectability and accessibility to farmland birds. Ibis 146 (Suppl. 2), 123-130 Whittingham, M.J., Butler, S.J., Quinn, J.L. & Cresswell, W. (2004) The effect of limited visibility on vigilance behaviour and speed of predator detection: Implications for the conservation of granivorous passerines. Oikos 106, 377-385 Cresswell, W., Quinn, J.L., Whittingham, M.J. & Butler, S.J. (2003) Good foragers can also be good at detecting predators. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, 270, 1069-1076