Seminar with Sean Heighton, postdoc at Laboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology of Radionuclides at ASNR (Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority), France
Sean Heighton is a passionate conservationist who applies a range of research methods to address conservation challenges. He started his career at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), investigating pangolin molecular epidemiology and population genetics. He then undertook a PhD at the University of Toulouse (France), where he developed genomic tools to support conservation management and trace the geographic origins of pangolins in the illegal wildlife trade across Africa and Asia. His research has since expanded across systems and scales, including ancient DNA genomics of extinct and endangered island birds, evidence syntheses on emerging conservation threats, and studies integrating ecological and local knowledge. His current postdoctoral research explores the use of eDNA from river sediment cores to identify patterns and shifts in biodiversity over the last century.
Alongside academic research, he works closely with NGOs and governments to translate science into conservation action. This includes facilitating or leading regional species conservation action plans and coordinating South Africa’s Biodiversity Management Plan for pangolins. See for example the African pangolin working group.
Short summary:
As conservation challenges become increasingly complex, practitioners are turning to new tools to support more informed and effective decision-making. Genetic and genomic approaches are now emerging as key assets, offering insights that span from evolutionary history to ecosystem-level processes. Drawing on examples from my research, I will highlight how these tools can be used to address practical conservation problems—from tracking wildlife trade to reconstructing past biodiversity change. I will also discuss the challenges of translating genetic data into actionable outcomes, and explore how we can better integrate these approaches into the conservation toolkit to support practitioners with their on-the-ground decision-making.