David Stanton

I am a researcher at Cardiff University in Wales, the UK. My research uses genetics to answer questions about ecology, archaeology and conservation. In particular, I am interested in studying ancient human-wildlife interactions. For example, I am currently working on a project that is studying the impact of humans in the Amazon over the past ~10 thousand years. We are focussing on a type of human-made earth called Terra Preta ("dark earth" http://tpinet.org/) and the animals that live in the soil.

I am also working on a project that looks at the historic relationship between red deer and humans. We recently found out that humans appear to have moved red deer to the Outer Hebrides and Orkney (islands off the coast of Scotland) at around 5000 years ago. You can read the paper here:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/283/1828/20160095
Some of the media coverage about the paper can be found here:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/06/riddle-of-the-red-deer-orkney-deer-arrived-by-neolithic-ship-study-reveals
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/red-deer-came-scottish-islands-unexpected-places
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35970195