50+
Academic papers
Peer-reviewed work across ecology, conservation, marine systems, and social science.
The evidence behind our work
Selected research and outputs.
Our work is grounded in rigorous science and practical questions about nature, people and environmental change. Below is a selection of our academic papers and practical reports produced with colleagues and partner organisations.
Track record
Research experience behind our work
4,000+
Citations
Rigorous research that has been used, tested and built on by the wider scientific community.
Applied outputs
Reports and reviews
Evidence summaries, project outputs, protocols and reports designed to support practical conservation decisions.
Areas of expertise
Evidence across land, ocean and people
Recent projects
Recent applied outputs produced with conservation, research and delivery partners.
Pollinator conservation
Research on pollinator habitats, crop pollination, climate impacts, and public engagement with pollinator conservation.
Roads and road verges
Research on road verge habitats, road pollution and ecosystem services, with practical recommendations for improving verge management.
Marine plastic pollution
Research on plastic pollution, marine turtles, megafauna interactions, abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, and Small Island Developing States.
People and nature
Research on how people understand, value and respond to nature, including public engagement, practitioner insight, and conservation behaviour.
Selected work
Selected publications and reports
This is not a complete list, but it gives a sense of the research experience, applied outputs and collaborations that shape our work.
Recent projects
- Phillips B, Duncan E (in prep). From Trees to Seas: A spatial analysis of woodland cover, ecological condition and biodiversity across the estuaries of Great Britain. Apex Science and Conservation LLP / The Woodland Trust.
- Phillips B (2025). Environmental connections between forests and oceans. A scoping review for the Woodland Trust. View publication
- Duncan EM in Innovate UK Business Connect, Satellite Applications Catapult and Arribada Initiative (2024). The role of remote sensing in shaping marine plastic litter policies and innovations. View publication
- Duncan EM in Darwin Initiative, Capability & Capacity (2023-2025): Bolstering Príncipe's resilience to marine plastics through strengthened community capacity. View publication
- Duncan EM, Phillips BB, et al. (in prep). Discarded fishing nets and marine megafauna entanglements in Príncipe, Gulf of Guinea: A survey of fishers to reveal current practices and potential solutions.
Pollinator conservation
- Bishop, ..., Phillips BB, ..., et al. (2025). Critical habitat thresholds for effective pollinator conservation in agricultural landscapes. Science. View publication
- Süle, ..., Phillips BB, ..., et al. (2025). Pollinator-promoting interventions in European urban habitats: A synthesis. Ecology Letters, 28: e70189. View publication
- Knapp JL & Phillips BB et al. (2021). Socio-psychological factors, beyond knowledge, predict people's engagement in pollinator conservation. People and Nature, 3: 204-220. View publication
- Shaw RF, Phillips BB, et al. (2020). Mass-flowering crops have a greater impact than semi-natural habitat on crop pollinators and pollen deposition. Landscape Ecology, 35: 513-527. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2018). Drought reduces floral resources for pollinators. Global Change Biology, 24: 3226-3235. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2018). Shared traits make flies and bees effective pollinators of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Basic and Applied Ecology, 32: 66-76. View publication
Roads and road verges
- Phillips BB et al. (2021). Spatial extent of road pollution: A national analysis. Science of The Total Environment, 773: 145589. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2021). Road verge extent and habitat composition across Great Britain. Landscape and Urban Planning, 214: 104159. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2021). Impacts of multiple pollutants on pollinator activity in road verges. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58: 1017-1029. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2020). Ecosystem service provision by road verges. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57: 488-501. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2020). Enhancing road verges to aid pollinator conservation: A review. Biological Conservation, 250: 108687. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2019). Road verges support pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but are diminished by heavy traffic and summer cutting. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56: 2316-2327. View publication
Marine plastic pollution
- Duncan EM et al. (2023). Predicting the distribution and abundance of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the deep sea of the Azores (North Atlantic). Science of The Total Environment, 900: 166579. View publication
- Ramilo-Henry M, Umbelina B, Matilde E & Duncan EM (2023). Plastic pollution on remote islands: A baseline study of Príncipe, Gulf of Guinea. Marine Environmental Research, 191: 106181. View publication
- Omeyer LCM & Duncan EM et al. (2023). Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. Science of The Total Environment, 874: 162502. View publication
- Duncan EM et al. (2021). Plastic pollution and small juvenile marine turtles: A potential evolutionary trap. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8: 699521. View publication
- Duncan EM et al. (2020). Message in a bottle: Open source technology to track the movement of plastic pollution. PLOS ONE, 15: e0242459. View publication
- Duncan EM et al. (2019). Microplastic ingestion ubiquitous in marine turtles. Global Change Biology, 25: 744-752. View publication
People and nature
- Duncan EM, Phillips BB, et al. (in prep). Discarded fishing nets and marine megafauna entanglements in Príncipe, Gulf of Guinea: A survey of fishers to reveal current practices and potential solutions.
- Phillips BB et al. (2025). The Renewing Biodiversity Longitudinal Survey (ReBLS): Protocol for a panel study. People and Nature, 7: 815-827. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2022). Monitoring public engagement with nature using Google Trends. People and Nature, 4: 1216-1232. View publication
- Phillips BB et al. (2022). Harnessing practitioner knowledge to inform the conservation of a protected species, the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3: e12198. View publication
- Knapp JL & Phillips BB et al. (2021). Socio-psychological factors, beyond knowledge, predict people's engagement in pollinator conservation. People and Nature, 3: 204-220. View publication
Looking for relevant expertise?
If you are interested in a particular area of our work, or want to discuss how our experience could support your project, we would be happy to talk.
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