I am a research fellow at the Conservation Biogeography Lab of Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany. My research focus is on conservation questions related to the effectiveness of protected areas, development of monitoring tools and frameworks, and better understanding of human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
Being raised in a nature-loving family, I have been fascinated by wildlife and conservation since childhood. As such, being a conservation scientist who has his feet on the ground, but is also influential in conservation policy and practice on a larger scale has been my primary motivation. I started my studies with a BSc. in Marine Biology at Shahid Beheshti University, Iran. Later, I continued my education with an MSc. in Conservation Science at Imperial College London, UK with a thesis on the spatial ecology of brown bears in Croatia and Slovenia. In between and after my studies, I worked for different NGOs and GOs in a range of projects from camera trapping surveys of Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard to public-awareness campaigns among local communities, and lobbying with fishermen to stop the lethal control of Caspian seals. I conducted my PhD in Biodiversity and Ecology at Goerg-August-University Göttingen, Germany where I explored the impacts of prey depletion from poaching on large carnivores. For this study, I quantified the prey preferences of the Persian leopard and the trophic competition with poachers in Golestan National Park, Iran.
In my current position as a research fellow at Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany, I develop and test a social-ecological monitoring framework in the Caucasus Ecoregion (SoMoproject) using a range of interdisciplinary tools and approaches (see researchpage for more detail). I also contribute to teaching various conservation and biogeography courses at the Geography Department (see teaching page for more detail). I have close collaborations with conservation organizations around the world and consult on several projects with a particular focus on large mammals and temperate ecosystems (see conservation page for more detail).
EDUCATION
PhD in Biodiversity & Ecology (2012 – 2016)
Georg-August-University Göttingen, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology & Anthropology, Germany
Thesis title: Prey preferences of the Persian leopard and trophic competition with human hunters in Iran
Supervisors: Matthias Waltert, Michael Mühlenberg, Niko Balkenhol
Overall grade: magna cum laude | Defence grade: summa cum laud
MSc. & DIC in Conservation Science (2009 - 2010)
Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences, UK. In partnership with Zoological Society of London, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Thesis title: Habitat suitability modelling of brown bear Ursus arctos in Croatia and Slovenia using telemetry data
Supervisors: N. Bunnefeld, K. Jerina, D. Huber, M. Rowcliffe
Overall grade: Merit | Thesis grade: Distinction
BSc. in Marine Biology (2002 - 2007)
Shahid Beheshti University, Department of Biology, Iran
HONOURS, AWARDS & EXPERT GROUP MEMBERSHIPS
Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation Biology - Europe Section
IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group
IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group
IUCN SSC Caprinae Specialist Group
IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Group
IUCN SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Visiting Research Fellow, Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science (ICCS) of the University of Oxford, OX|BER Research Partnership (2021-2022)
The Interdisciplinary Conservation Network, the University of Oxford's Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science (ICCS) and Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), and theOxford Brookes University Wildlife Trade Research Group (2020-2021)
The Robert Bosch Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Humboldt-University Berlin, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) (2020-2022)
Steering Committee, Scientific Committee and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice Committee, 7th European Congress of Conservation Biology, Bologna (2023-2024)
Fritz-Frank-Award, German Society for Mammalian Biology (2017)
Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates and Young Academics and Scientists, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (2012-2016)
Young Scientist Award, 89th Annual Meeting of German Society for Mammalian Biology (2015)
CONTACTS
Dr. Arash Ghoddousi Humboldt-University Berlin Geography Department Unter den Linden 6 Berlin 10099 Germany