Gary Bilotta

I am a Principal Lecturer in Physical Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Brighton. I am also Head of the multi-million pound Aquatic Research Centre (www.brighton.ac.uk/aquatic). My primary research links the disciplines of hydrology, geomorphology, and freshwater ecology, in order to improve the sustainability of the provision of water, food and energy, whilst protecting the ecological integrity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. My research is improving the evidence-base and developing new monitoring and assessment tools needed to support the implementation of international water resource legislation such as the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which seeks to restore European waters (including streams and rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters within 1 km of the low-tide mark) to good ecological status. Recent research that I have been involved with, published in Ecological Indicators and Freshwater Biology, has led to the development of a biomonitoring tool for use by UK environment agencies to assess the degree to which stream and river sites are affected by sediment stress.

My secondary research examines the ways in which policy-makers and researchers can improve the scientific evidence base and its use in decision making. My research in this area has focused on the adoption of systematic review methods and quality assessment methods modified from best-practice in the healthcare field. This work has recently led to the publication of peer-reviewed articles co-authored by the Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.