Dr Matthew Struebig is a conservation scientist interested in the impacts of environmental change on tropical biodiversity and the implications this has for landscape management and conservation. Initially trained as an animal ecologist, much of his work is based in the modified habitats of Southeast Asia and is applied to the conservation of tropical wildlife. More recently he has begun to explore important trade-offs in conservation, working on interdisciplinary projects with colleagues in the social and earth sciences.
Matt joined DICE in 2010, initially as a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow. He now leads the Tropical Defaunation Hub, launched in 2020 with a major investment from the Leverhulme Trust to study the socio-ecological drivers of wildlife population change in Indonesia. The interdisciplinary team comprises specialists in biodiversity, spatial statistics, remote sensing and poverty assessment.
Dr Matthew Struebig is a member of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, and has a prominent role on its new E3 initiative working on OECMs (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures).
Research interests
The future of tropical biodiversity will depend, to a large extent, on how we manage human-modified habitats. This raises important questions about how we improve prospects for wildlife, while also supporting the broader needs of people living in these areas.
Dr Struebig's research is therefore applied to the valuation, design and management of modified landscapes in the tropics, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia where he has worked for >25 years. His interests have expanded from mammal ecology to embrace other complicated problems, particularly concerning efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict and alleviate poverty in tropical countries while fulfilling conservation objectives.
Nick Deere (PDRA): Defaunation modelling in Indonesia (Leverhulme)
Dominic Muenzel(RA): Spatial prioritisation in Indonesia (Darwin Initiative / UKRI)
Katie Spencer: Mammal populations and wildmeat harvests in Indonesian Borneo (Leverhulme)
PhD students (lead supervisor)
Robby Butarbutar: environmental and social sustainability of coconut farming in Sulawesi, Indonesia (NERC ARIES DTP; Chester Zoo)
Joseph Hedges: livelihoods and biodiversity among competing land-uses in an Indonesian Biosphere Reserve (Leverhulme Scholars)
Liam Hughes: Restoring biodiversity and functional connectivity in Sumatra’s community managed forests (NERC ARIES DTP; Darwin Initiative)
Febri Widodo: Restoring tropical biodiversity, carbon stores and forest regeneration through ecosystem restoration licences (Leverhulme Scholars)
Research group alumni
Michaela Lo (PhD) Impact evaluation of social forestry and mining in Indonesia. Now an ESRC Research Fellow at Kent.
Irene (Areth) Pinondang: Conserving mammals in human-managed tropical peatlands of Sumatra. Now an environmental consultant.
Ardiantiono: (PhD) Biodiversity monitoring in the Leuser ecosystem. Moved to University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nicolas Deere (PhD): Informing tropical mammal conservation in human-modified landscapes using remote technologies and hierarchical modelling. Now PDRA at Kent.
Eleanor Stewart (RA): Ridge to reef analyses across the Wallacea bioregion, 2020-2022. Moved to JNCC.
Simon Mitchell (PDRA): Land-use change impacts on Wallacean birds, 2019-22. Moved to environmental consultancy.
Courtney Morgans (PDRA): Impacts of conservation interventions on poverty in Indonesia, 2020-2022. Moved to University of Queensland.
Truly Santika (PDRA): Impact evaluation of oil palm development and conservation interventions in Indonesia, 2017-20. Moved to NRI, Greenwich University.
