What drives species sensitivity to deforestation? Clue: it’s not what you think

Discover what truly drives species sensitivity to deforestation — and why the answer challenges long-held assumptions in conservation science, biodiversity research, and nature recovery policy. In this talk, Cristina Banks-Leite (Imperial College London) explores the overlooked but powerful role of intraspecific variability in shaping how species respond to habitat loss, forest degradation, and wider environmental change.

While most conservation studies prioritise species-level traits such as morphology, behaviour, or life-history characteristics, this research reveals that variation within species can rival or even exceed differences between species. This emerging evidence has transformative implications for biodiversity conservation strategies, environmental economics, and policy frameworks aimed at protecting ecosystems under accelerating pressures from deforestation.

You’ll learn why understanding ecological drivers of intraspecific variation is essential for designing effective nature recovery interventions, how these findings reshape our predictions of species vulnerability, and what they mean for academics, policymakers, NGOs, and practitioners working at the front line of conservation planning.

If you're interested in nature recovery, ecosystem resilience, and cutting-edge approaches to biodiversity protection, this video will deepen your understanding of how species actually adapt — and why our current models may be missing a crucial part of the story.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Nature Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.

The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.

#Biodiversity #Conservation #NatureRecovery #Deforestation #HabitatLoss