Olivier Pays-Volard

Research & Expertise

Olivier Pays-Volard is a (full) Professor in animal ecology at the University of Angers and leads the BiodivAG Research Unit (https://biodivag.univ-angers.fr/en) and the Master of Sciences in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution. He graduated with a D.Phil. from the University of Toulouse and the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) in 2006 and acquired a post-doctoral experience at the University of Queensland, Australia.

He is conducting applied research projects on the ecology, conservation and management of vertebrate species in diverse social-ecological systems such as savannas, farmland landscapes and wetlands. His projects focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying species’ (populations, communities) responses to the spatio-temporal dynamics of the environment including land-use changes and human activities. His projects aim to support stakeholders in developing strategies for biodiversity management, including the conservation of iconic species, the management of invasive species, the mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts, and the enhancement of ecosystem service provision. He has fostered fruitful collaborations with several universities from France, Brazil, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Canada, Australia and Italy.