Staffan Roos
Senior Conservation Scientist
RSPB Centre for Conservation Science
Edinburgh, UK
Follow Staffan on Twitter @roos_staffan
Most likely to be found…
…In front of a computer
Involved with the BOU as:
Ordinary member & Ibis Associate Editor
BOU member since: 2014 (plus a 2-year spell around 2002)
Why are you a member of the BOU?
To be part of the wider ornithological community, to attend BOU conferences and to get access to funding opportunities and the first-class publication Ibis.
What do you enjoy most about your involvement with the BOU?
The conferences are great! I enjoy meeting friends and colleagues from the UK and abroad, and the presentations are of very high standards. I am also an associate editor of Ibis, BOU’s flagship peer-reviewed publication. The role involves identifying suitable reviewers to submitted manuscripts, but also reading the manuscripts. Apart from helping to maintain the good reputation of Ibis, the role of associate editor has also meant that I keep up with the latest ornithological research.
What would you say to anyone who is considering joining (or leaving!) the BOU?
Join! The conferences are very good and full of friendly like-minded people. If you are thinking of leaving? Don’t! Make the most out of your membership of BOU and try to attend a conference. Everyone, from MSc students to professors, is likely to benefit from and enjoy these events.
If you’ve attended a BOU conference, what did you get out of it?
Great presentations in a friendly atmosphere! There are surprisingly few people with a big ego at BOU conferences. The conferences are superb “first conference” for PhD students, because posters and presentations are likely to receive constructive feedback from people in the audience.
When did your interest in ornithology begin?
When I was a young child and parents took me on long walks in the Swedish forests.
What is your most memorable bird-y experience?
To see a Magpie predate a Eurasian Jay nest. Intra-guild predation in the corvid community can be very fierce!
What is your favourite outdoor place and why?
The forests in southern Sweden, because of the diversity of animals, the lovely smell of pine trees and the abundance of edible mushrooms.
If you could visit anywhere in the world, that you haven’t yet been to, where would it be and why?
North-western Madagascar, because of the diversity of endemic birds and lemurs.
What are the big conservation challenges in the next decade?
Funding the work in a world where governments are spending less and less on conservation.
What are your interests outside the world of ornithology?
A wide mix, including DIY, gardening, fishing and cooking.