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Sam Williams

Conservation Biologist

Durham University

Biography

Sam Williams is an Associate Staff Editor at PeerJ. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, and an Independent Researcher at the Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE).

His research interests focus on carnivores in the Anthropocene, with a mission to determine how carnivores can benefit people through ecosystem services, and how people can benefit carnivores through biodiversity conservation.

Interests

  • Carnivore conservation
  • Human-wildlife conflict
  • Animals in the Anthropocene

Education

  • PhD in Biological Anthropology, 2012

    Durham University

  • MRes in Biological Sciences, 2004

    University of Manchester

  • BSc in Biology, 2003

    University of Manchester

Recent Publications

A comparative assessment on rodent impacts and cultural perceptions of ecologically based rodent management in three Afro‐Malagasy farming regions

We advocate for an enhanced investigation of the socio-cultural beliefs associated with different rodent practices to understand the …
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Illuminating movement? Nocturnal activity patterns in chacma baboons

Although diurnal primates may periodically be active at night, there is limited evidence for strategic use of the nocturnal phase even …
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Low-intensity environmental education can enhance perceptions of culturally taboo wildlife

We found that associations between owls and witchcraft was a common theme driving negative perceptions of owls.
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Predation in agricultural rodent pest control: Underutilized ecosystem service or unrealistic expectation?

We use data from field studies and simulation models to investigate the effect of predation on crop losses.
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Using road patrol data to identify factors associated with carnivore roadkill counts

We assessed the feasibility of using roadkill data collected daily between 2014 and 2017 by road patrol staff from a private road …
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