David Noble

Head & Principal Ecologist

David Noble

Contact

David is responsible for the strategic development of BTO’s monitoring programme and associated research, is the main contact for biodiversity indicators, surveys of taxa other than birds, and for conservation initiatives such as BAP and Birds of Conservation Concern.

Interests & Responsibilities

  • Senior investigator with extensive experience in the analysis and interpretation of biological data.
  • Represents BTO on a range of scientific and statutory committees related to bird and mammal conservation.
  • Interested in capacity building and development of monitoring programmes for birds and other taxa in the UK and internationally, particularly in Europe.
  • Committed to an evidence-based approach to tackling a range of conservation issues.
  • Experience leading a team of researchers on projects related to bird conservation, temporal and spatial variation in bird abundance and distribution and the development of analytical methods.
  • Development of bird indicators in the UK and in Europe.
  • Previously, researcher on the ecology and behaviour of seabirds in Canada and cuckoo hosts in the UK and Africa, currently investigating effects of pollutants on migratory waders in North America.

Other Information

European Bird Census Council (EBCC) – Delegate, and Observer on Executive Committee Tracking Mammals Partnership

Qualifications

BSc Guelph University, Canada. MSc Queen’s University, Canada. PhD University of Cambridge, UK.

Recent BTO Publications

Massimino, D., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Bashford, R.I., Gregory, R.D., Harris, S.J., Heywood, J.J.N., Kelly, L.A., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Raven, M.J., Risely, K., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S.R. & Gillings, S. 2024. The Breeding Bird Survey of the United Kingdom. Global Ecology and Biogeography 34 View at journal website (DOI: 10.1111/geb.13943)
Stanbury, A.J., Burns, F., Aebischer, N.J., Baker, H., Balmer, D., Brown, A.F., Dunn, T., Lindley, P., Murphy, M., Noble, D.G., Owens, R. & Quinn, L. 2024. The status of the UK’s breeding seabirds: an addendum to the fifth Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man and second IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain. British Birds 117 : 471-487 Link to publication
Heywood, J.J.N., Massimino, D., Balmer, D.E., Kelly, L., Marion, S., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., White, D.M., Woodcock, P., Wotton, S. and Gillings, S. 2024. The Breeding Bird Survey 2023.
Burns, F., Mordue, S., al Fulaij, N., Boersch-Supan, P.H., Boswell, J., Boyd, R.J., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., de Ornellas, P., de Palma, A., de Zylva, P., Dennis, E.B., Foster, S., Gilbert, G., Halliwell, L., Hawkins, K., Haysom, K.A., Holland, M.M., Hughes, J., Jackson, A.C., Mancini, F., Mathews, F., McQuatters-Gollop, A., Noble, D.G., O’Brien, D., Pescott, O.L., Purvis, A., Simkin, J., Smith, A., Stanbury, A.J., Villemot, J., Walker, K.J., Walton, P., Webb, T.J., Williams, J., Wilson, R. & Gregory, R.D. 2023. State of Nature report 2023.
Howard, C., Marjakangas, E.-M., Morán-Ordóñez, A., Milanesi, P., Abuladze, A., Aghababyan, K., Ajder, V., Arkumarev, V., Balmer, D.E., Bauer, H.-G., Beale, C.M., Bino, T., Ali Boyla, K., Burfield, I.J., Burke, B., Caffrey, B., Chodkiewicz, T., Del Moral, J.C., Dumbovic Mazal, V., Fernández, N., Fornasari, L., Gerlach, B., Godinho, C., Herrando, S., Ieronymidou, C., Johnston, A., Jovicevic, M., Kalyakin, M., Keller, V., Knaus, P., Kotrošan, D., Kuzmenko, T,, Leitão, D., Lindström, Å., Maxhuni, Q., Mihelič, T., Mikuska, T., Molina, B., Nagy, K., Noble, D., Jostein Øien, I., Paquet, J.-Y., Pladevall, C., Portolou, D., Radišić, D., Rajkov, S., Rajković, D.Z., Raudonikis, L., Sattler, T., Saveljić, D., Shimmings, P., Sjenicic, J., Šťastný, K., Stoychev, K., Strus, I., Sudfeldt, C., Sultanov, E., Szép, T., Teufelbauer, N., Uzunova, D., van Turnhout, C.A.M., Velevski, M., Vikstrøm, T., Vintche 2023. Local colonisations and extinctions of European birds are poorly explained by changes in climate suitability. Nature Communications 14 View at journal website (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39093-1)
Gregory, R.D., Eaton, M.A., Burfield, I.J., Grice, P.V., Howard, C., Klvaňová, A., Noble, D., Šilarová, E., Staneva, A., Stephens, P.A., Willis, S.G., Woodward, I.D. & Burns, F. 2023. Drivers of the changing abundance of European birds at two spatial scales. Proc. Roy. Soc. B Link to publication View at journal website (DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0198)
View all BTO publications for this author

Other Publications

Pratte, I., Noble, D., Mallory, L.M., Braun, B.M. & Provencher, J.F. 2020. The influence of migration patterns on exposure to contaminants in Nearctic shorebirds: a historical study. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 192 (DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-8218-1) 


Gaston, A.J., Chapdelaine, G. & Noble, D.G. 1983. The growth of Thick-billed Murre chicks at colonies in Hudson Strait: inter- and intra-colony variation. Canadian Journal of Zoology 61 (part 11) : 2 465-2 475 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1139/z83-327)

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