麻豆传媒映画

My research focuses on animal responses to environmental change, with a particular emphasis on how behaviour and movement shape zoonotic spillover risk. I am the Scientific Lead of the Horizon Europe project , which investigates how ecosystem degradation and restoration alter infectious disease dynamics, and how nature-based solutions can be leveraged to reduce disease risk.

My work combines movement ecology, behavioural ecology, and disease ecology, developing new tools to uncover the mechanisms linking animal behaviour to pathogen transmission. I use and design to test theoretical predictions of spillover risk, including an

A major strand of my research is acoustic ecology. I have developed to analyse soundscapes in real time, with extensive work on bat acoustics, linking social behaviour and movement to vocal activity. I currently lead a multi-partner project mapping bat social soundscapes to behaviour in North Wales.

Beyond Europe, I contribute to applied surveillance, including the development of an which uses mosquito blood-meal analysis to identify host communities and track biodiversity change relevant to disease emergence.

I teach the following courses:

- Telling Data Driven Stories in Conservation: How to plan, carry out, analyse and report an effective scientific study (MSc)

- Organismal Diversity - Chiropteran diversity (BSc)

- Parasites and Pathogens (BSc)

Student projects with me can cover the following:

• Bat ecology
• Animal movement and behaviour
• Acoustic ecology
• Functional diversity under different ecological conditions
• Parasitology

Supervision:听

PhD

Cato Vangenechten (co-supervised with Joachim Marien, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium and Sophie Gryseels, University of Antwerp, Belgium)

Project title: Restoring nature鈥檚 health: Investigating the effects of听

ecosystem restoration on zoonotic disease risk

Baraka Edson Mwamandula (co-supervised with Joachim Marien, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Alfan Riga and Apia Massawe, Sokoine University of Agriculture).听

Project title: Unravelling Zoonotic Pathogen Transmission Among Small Mammals And Their Ectoparasites in Degraded and Restored Habitats

Owen Storer (co-supervised with Alex Georgiev and Amy Ellison, 麻豆传媒映画)

Project title: Parasites in Zanzibar Red Colobus: Linking Human Disturbance to Infection Patterns

MRes / MSc

Lauren Webster (co-supervised with Amy Ellison)

Project Title: Dietary Preference and Gut Microbiota Composition of Frugivorous Phyllostomids Within Fragmented Landscapes of the Ecuadorian Choc贸

I am willing to supervise a PhD

2026

• Published
  Fell, A., Jagadesh, S., Duthie, A. B., Kirkpatrick, L. & Bunnefeld, N., 27 Jan 2026, In: Nature Sustainability . 9, p. 142-152 11 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• E-pub ahead of print
  Huels, F., Sluydts, V., Vermeiren, D., Voinson, M., Kirkpatrick, L., Herrera Olivares, I., Leirs, H., Jacob, J. & Vanden Broecke, B., 23 Feb 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Integrative Zoology.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2025

• Published
  Abed, L., Vangenechten, C., Sluydts, V. & Kirkpatrick, L., 11 Dec 2025, protocols.io.
  Research output: Other contribution
• E-pub ahead of print
  Ecke, F., Semenza, J. C., Buzan, E., Costa, F., Giorgi, E., Guo, J., Kirkpatrick, L., Knauf, S., Meheretu, Y., Singh, N., Sj枚din, H., Timperley, M., Treskova, M., Ulrich, R. G., Zeppelini, C. G. & Rockl枚v, J., 7 Oct 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 9, 11, p. 1979-1988 10 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Albery, G. F., Becker, D. J., Firth, J. A., De Moor, D., Ravindran, S., Silk, M., Sweeny, A. R., Vander Wal, E., Webber, Q., Allen, B., Babayan, S. A., Barve, S., Begon, M., Birtles, R. J., Block, T. A., Block, B. A., Bradley, J. E., Budischak, S., Buesching, C. & Burthe, S. J. & 90 others, Carlisle, A. B., Caselle, J. E., Cattuto, C., Chaine, A. S., Chapple, T. K., Cheney, B. J., Clutton-Brock, T., Collier, M., Curnick, D. J., Delahay, R. J., Farine, D. R., Fenton, A., Ferretti, F., Feyrer, L., Fielding, H., Foroughirad, V., Frere, C., Gardner, M. G., Geffen, E., Godfrey, S. S., Graham, A. L., Hammond, P. S., Henrich, M., Heurich, M., Hopwood, P., Ilany, A., Jackson, J. A., Jackson, N., Jacoby, D. M. P., Jacoby, A.-M., Je啪ek, M., Kirkpatrick, L., Klamm, A., Klarevas-Irby, J. A., Knowles, S., Koren, L., Krzyszczyk, E., Kusch, J. M., Lambin, X., Lane, J. E., Leirs, H., Leu, S. T., Lyon, B. E., Macdonald, D. W., Madsen, A. E., Mann, J., Manser, M., Mari毛n, J., Massawe, A., McDonald, R. A., Morelle, K., Mourier, J., Newman, C., Nussear, K., Nyaguthii, B., Ogino, M., Ozella, L., Packer, C., Papastamatiou, Y. P., Paterson, S., Payne, E., Pedersen, A. B., Pemberton, J. M., Pinter-Wollman, N., Planes, S., Raulo, A., Rodr铆guez-Mu帽oz, R., Rudd, L., Sabuni, C., Sah, P., Schallert, R. J., Sheldon, B. C., Shizuka, D., Sih, A., Sinn, D. L., Sluydts, V., Spiegel, O., Telfer, S., Thomason, C. A., Tickler, D. M., Tregenza, T., VanderWaal, K., Walmsley, S., Walters, E. L., Wanelik, K. M., Whitehead, H., Wielgus, E., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Wohlfeil, C. & Bansal, S., 4 Sept 2025, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 9, 11, p. 2002-2013 12 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Gogarten, J., Lagostina, L., Sluydts, V., Vangenechten, C. & Kirkpatrick, L., 11 Dec 2025, protocols.io.
  Research output: Other contribution
• E-pub ahead of print
  Vangenechten, C., Mari毛n,, J., Vandecasteele,, H., Van Houtte, N., Gryseels,, S., Leirs,, H., Mwamundela, B. E., Sabuni,, C. & Kirkpatrick, L., 1 Dec 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Mammalia. 90, p. 39-49 11 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Mari毛n, J., Sabuni, C., Mwamundela, B. & Leirs, H., 2 Nov 2025, In: Ecology and Evolution. 15, 11, e72367.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L. & Jagadesh, S., 23 Dec 2025
  Research output: Book/Report 鈥� Other report
• Published
  Huels, F., Van den Broeke, B., Sluydts, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Hererra Olivares, I., Ennen, H., Vermeiren, D., Leirs, H. & Jacob, J., 3 Jan 2025, In: PLoS ONE. 20, 1, p. e0312553
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• In preparation
  Eynde, R. V., Olivares, I. H. & Kirkpatrick, L., 10 Dec 2025, (In preparation) BioRxiv.
  Research output: Working paper 鈥� Preprint

2024

• E-pub ahead of print
  van Der Hoek, Y., Van de Perre, F., Fastr茅, C., Kirkpatrick, L., Ngobobo, U., Tokunda, R., Binyinyi, E. & Stoinski, T. S., 4 Sept 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. 5, 3, e12379.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2023

• Published
  Mande, C., Van Cakenberghe, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Laudisoit, A., De Bruyn, L., Gembu, G.-C. & Verheyen, E., 1 Sept 2023, In: Biotropica. 55, 5, p. 920-932 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Mande, C., Kirkpatrick, L., Van Cakenberghe, V., De Bruyn, L., Laudisoit, A., Gembu, G.-C. & Verheyen, E., 1 Dec 2023, In: African Journal of Ecology. 61, 4, p. 829-839 11 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Leirs, H., Kirkpatrick, L., Sluydts, V., Sabuni, C., Borremans, B., Katakweba, A., Massawe, A., Makundi, R., Mulungu, L., Machang'u, R. & Mari毛n, J., 11 Nov 2023, In: Scientific data. 10, 1, p. 798
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2022

• Published
  Van Der Drift, A.-M., Leirs, H., Mari毛n, J., Sabuni, C., Mulungu, L. & Kirkpatrick, L., 2 Nov 2022, In: bioRxiv. p. 1 10 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article

2021

• Published
  De Bruyn, L., Gyselings, R., Kirkpatrick, L., Rachwald, A., Apozna艅ski, G. & Kokurewicz, T., 14 Jan 2021, In: Scientific Reports. 11, 1, p. 1464 1 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Albery, G. F., Kirkpatrick, L., Firth, J. A. & Bansal, S., 1 Jan 2021, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 90, 1, p. 45-61 17 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2020

• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Apozna艅ski, G., Bruyn, L. D., Gyselings, R. & Kokurewicz, T., 2 Mar 2020, In: Acta Chiropterologica. 21, 2, p. 465-471 7 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Mari毛n, J., Borremans, B., Verhaeren, C., Kirkpatrick, L., Gryseels, S., Go眉y de Bellocq, J., G眉nther, S., Sabuni, C. A., Massawe, A. W. & Reijniers, J., 1 Feb 2020, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 89, 2, p. 506-518 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2018

• Published
  Berkvens, R., Olivares, I. H., Mercelis, S., Kirkpatrick, L. & Weyn, M., 17 Oct 2018, Advances on P2P, Parallel, Grid, Cloud and Internet Computing: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on P2P, Parallel, Grid, Cloud and Internet Computing (3PGCIC-2018). Springer, p. 405-414 10 p.
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding 鈥� Conference contribution 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Graham, J., McGregor, S., Munro, L., Scoarize, M. & Park, K., 4 Oct 2018, In: PLoS ONE. 13, 10, p. e0204511
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Mitchell, S. N. & Park, K. J., 1 Nov 2018, In: Ecology and Evolution. 8, 22, p. 11134-11142 9 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2017

• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Maher, S. J., Lopez, Z., Lintott, P. R., Bailey, S. A., Dent, D. & Park, K. J., 1 Feb 2017, In: Biological Conservation. 206, p. 1-10 10 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Bailey, S. & Park, K. J., 15 Nov 2017, In: Forest Ecology and Management. 404, p. 306-315 10 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., Oldfield, I. F. & Park, K., 1 Jul 2017, In: Forest Ecology and Management. 395, p. 1-8 8 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
• Published
  Kirkpatrick, L., 1 Jan 2017, In: Ecology and Evolution. 7, 1, p. 145-188 44 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2015

• Published
  Newbold, T., Hudson, L. N., Hill, S. L., Contu, S., Lysenko, I., Senior, R. A., B枚rger, L., Bennett, D. J., Choimes, A., Collen, B. & Kirkpatrick, L., 1 Apr 2015, In: Nature. 520, 7545, p. 45-50 6 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2014

• Published
  Newbold, T., Hudson, L. N., Phillips, H. R., Hill, S. L., Contu, S., Lysenko, I., Blandon, A., Butchart, S. H., Booth, H. L., Day, J. & Kirkpatrick, L., 7 Oct 2014, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281, 1792, p. 20141371 1 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review

2025

• Invited to give a workshop in how to use the biologgers I developed in monitoring animal movement and behaviour in captive animals (zoo conservation).

  4 Apr 2025

  Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)

2024

• Invited speaker at a session at the conference

  19 Nov 2024

  Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)

(Restoring Ecosystems to Stop the Threat of (Re-)Emerging Infectious Disease) is a听Horizon Europe research initiative (2024鈥�2027)听funded to explore how听ecosystem restoration, biodiversity and disease dynamics intersect. It seeks to听understand when, where and through what mechanisms ecological restoration can help听prevent or mitigate zoonotic spillover,听the transmission of pathogens from wildlife to people, and how restoration may also influence broader ecosystem and human health.

The project recognises that while听landscape degradation increases spillover risk, it is听not yet clear which restoration actions, scales or contexts effectively reduce that risk, or how restoration changes species interactions, human鈥揺nvironment contact, biodiversity patterns, and pathogen transmission. RESTOREID integrates ecological, social, and health perspectives to fill this knowledge gap.

RESTOREID combines听innovative monitoring and modelling methods,听including biodiversity diagnostics, acoustic and eDNA assessments, participatory scenario mapping, and social science engagement, to test hypotheses about ecological and behavioural mechanisms affecting disease outcomes. It also develops tools to support听policy-relevant decision-making听and community engagement, such as interactive games and knowledge platforms, helping translate scientific insight into practical strategies for healthier landscapes and safer coexistence of people and wildlife.

is听 a SNIS funded project investigating how knowledge on biodiversity can be leveraged to provide insights into, and early warnings about vector borne pathogen hazard. Vector-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue, and Zika cause over 700,000 deaths annually, a toll worsened by climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-use change. In tropical regions, limited public health capacity means outbreaks are often detected too late.This project is developing an early warning system that combines invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) from mosquito blood meals with climate, land-use, and community vulnerability data to predict outbreak risk. In Tolima, Colombia, researchers will detect pathogens and host species from mosquitoes collected across different landscapes, integrating results into spatial models to identify high-risk areas.Co-developed with Colombia鈥檚 national surveillance system and in collaboration with the WHO, the approach will produce open-access tools, training materials, and policy guidance to support adoption in other vulnerable regions.The project unites experts from 麻豆传媒映画 (UK), Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), ETH Zurich (Switzerland), the Secretar铆a de Salud de Tolima, the Civil Society Nature Reserve 鈥淐harco Azul鈥�, the Colombian Primatological Association, and other partners.