Rich Cottrell

Rich completed his BSc (Hons) in Biology at University of Southampton in England before moving to Scotland to undertake a Masters of Research in Ecosystem-based Management at the University of St. Andrews. Rich went on to lead tropical ecology field courses for high school and university groups for seven years in Southeast Asia aimed at familiarising students with ecosystem ecology, research methods, and conservation threats. A major take-home message from his time in one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots was how food production, in particular, is driving huge resource use change and biodiversity loss in this region. Starting as a passionate ecologist, Rich started to develop interests in global change and the ultimate drivers of biodiversity loss beyond the proximate threats of deforestation or fishing. Rich subsequently moved to Australia to complete his PhD on land-sea interactions among food systems and their implications for food security and sustainability at the University of Tasmania. During his PhD, Rich was involved with the Global Food Systems Impacts and Sustainability Working Group at NCEAS in Santa Barbara which aims to provide the most comprehensive spatial assessment of food system impacts across aquatic and terrestrial food systems attempted globally. He has since started a postdoctoral position at NCEAS, UCSB aimed at investigating the potential for marine conservation benefits from the use of cell-based seafood.