How does natural and anthropogenic disturbance change short- and long-term human population growth?
Year of award: 2014
Grantholders
Dr Thomas Ezard
University of Southampton
Project summary
Dr Ezard is an evolutionary ecologist interested in the dynamic consequences of how the structure of populations and communities interacts with environmental change. He is examining this through developing the interfaces between mathematical and statistical models. He will address his research question by constructing a database of momentum in human populations and using it to dissect the demographic, environmental and social drivers of human transient dynamics, from city to global scales. This research will provide insights into the drivers of short- and long-term population growth, elucidating how world wars, global pandemics, revolutions, catastrophic floods, political acts and social change shape societal responses to contemporary events. Dr Ezard's work will contribute to the much-needed evidence base on the dangers and benefits that momentum poses for population health in the 21st century.