Robert A. Montgomery, PhD

Robert (Bob) Montgomery is a Professor of Conservation Science, the Director of the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas, and the Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange in the Institute of Science and Environment. 

Following his disciplinary training in the US, Professor Montgomery was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Missouri from 2012-2014. In 2014, he was hired as an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2020. Then in 2021, he moved to the United Kingdom to become an Associate Professor of Biodiversity and Sustainability in the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. 

Professor Montgomery’s conservation science research has spanned six continents with outputs published broadly on the topics of animal ecology and conservation as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning. As an award-winning educator, Professor Montgomery has taught a range of courses including outdoor leadership, ecology and wildlife conservation, geography, conservation management, and zoology. 

Over his career, he has also demonstrated a clear track record of excellence in implementing robust Research and Knowledge Exchange partnerships across NGO, industry, and government sectors. Professor Montgomery is an Associate Editor at Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, and Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and has authored the edited volume Apex Predators in the Anthropocene: How Humans Shape Large Carnivore Populations published in 2025 by Oxford University Press. 

Professor Montgomery has received over two dozen competitive grants including the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator award (UKRI Frontier Research Grant; 2024-2029) for his research in Uganda. He serves on a number of different boards and made an Explorer by the National Geographic Society in 2019.

Ph.D., Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, USA (2012)
M.Sc., Wildlife Science, University of Washington, USA (2005)
B.A., Anthropology (Biological), University of Minnesota, USA (2002)

Professor Montgomery’s research is centred on spatial assessments of human-animal-habitat interactions in a variety of ecological systems around the world. Research subjects have included marine mammals, terrestrial mammals, insects, and amphibians. At the core of his research programme, however, are questions involving predator-prey interactions, particularly in systems with large carnivores and ungulate prey. 

The goal of Professor Montgomery’s research is to quantify the effects of intrinsic, environmental, and anthropogenic covariates on animal decision-making and to model how these decisions can scale-up to have population-level consequences with relevance to conservation practice and policy. A central tenet of his research philosophy is to expand opportunities for diverse students, collaborators, and stakeholders to engage in coupled natural and human systems research. 

Primary supervised students and postdocs designated with an *

Montgomery, R.A., A.M. Pointer*, S. Jingo, H. Kasozi*, M. Ogada, and T. Mudumba*. 2022. Integrating social justice into higher education conservation science. BioScience 72:549-559.

Montgomery, R.A., T. Mudumba*, M. Wijers*, L. Boudinot, A. Loveridge, G. Chapron, and D.W. Macdonald. 2023. Predicting the consequences of subsistence poaching on the population persistence of a non-target species of conservation concern. Biological Conservation 284:110147.

Montgomery, R.A., J. Raupp*, S.A. Miller*, R. Lisowksy*, A. Comar*, M. Wijers*, C.K. Bugir, and M.W. Hayward. 2022. The hunting modes of human predation and potential nonconsumptive effects on animal populations. Biological Conservation 265.

Montgomery, R.A. 2020. Poaching is not one big thing. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 35:472-475.

Montgomery, R.A., K. Borona, H. Kasozi*, T. Mudumba*, and M. Ogada. 2020. Positioning human heritage at the center of conservation practice. Conservation Biology 34:1122-1130.

Montgomery, R.A., R.J. Moll*, E. Say-Sallaz, M. Valeix, and L. Prugh. 2019. A tendency to simplify complex systems. Biological Conservation 233:1-11.

Montgomery, R.A., K. Redilla*, R.J. Moll*, B. Van Moorter, C.M. Rolandsen, E.J. Solberg, and J.J. Millspaugh. 2019. Movement modelling reveals the complex nature of moose response to summer ambient temperatures. Journal of Mammalogy 100:169-177.

Montgomery, R.A., C. Hoffmann*, E.D. Tans, and B, Kissui. 2018. Discordant scales and the potential pitfalls of human-carnivore conflict mitigation. Biological Conservation 224:170-177.

Montgomery, R.A., J.A. Vucetich, R.O. Peterson, G.J. Roloff, and K.F. Millenbah. 2013. The influence of winter severity, predation and senescence on moose habitat use. Journal of Animal Ecology 82:301-309.

Montgomery, R.A., G.J. Roloff, and J.J. Millspaugh. 2013. Variation in elk response to roads by season, sex, and road type. Journal of Wildlife Management 77:313-325.

Conferences:

Special Symposia Organized at International Conferences

Montgomery, R.A. and A. Coates. Assessing the impact of emergent technologies in monitoring and measuring biodiversity at mine sites. The 44th International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA25), Bologna, Italy. May 1-4, 2025. 

Montgomery, R.A. and E. Di Minin. Human-carnivore coexistence: Challenges, opportunities, and potential paths forward. The 7th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB 2024), Bologna, Italy. June 17-21, 2024. 

Piccolo, J., S. Stalhammar, and R.A. Montgomery. Social and ecological values: Charting a course forward to 2030 for SCB Europe. The 7th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB 2024), Bologna, Italy. June 17-21, 2024. 

Montgomery, R.A. and T. Mudumba. The central importance of social justice in conservation: Introducing the human heritage-centred conservation framework. The Society for Conservation Biology’s 31st International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2023), Kigali, Rwanda, July 23-27, 2023. 

Montgomery, R.A. and R.J. Moll. How Humans Shape Large Mammal Behavior, Ecology, and Fitness. The Wildlife Society’s 29th Annual Conference, Spokane, Washington, USA. November 6 – 10, 2022.

Montgomery, R.A., P. Jackson, and J.J. Millspaugh. The Community Ecology of Large Carnivores in the Mountain West. The Wildlife Society’s 26th Annual Conference, Reno, Nevada, USA. September 29 – October 3, 2019.

Montgomery, R.A., R.J. Moll, and J. Cepek. Carnivore Ecology in the Built Environment. The Wildlife Society’s 25th Annual Conference, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. October 7-11, 2018.