Research areas
Professor Christian Rutz FRSE has broad interests in animal behaviour and cognition, human evolution, advanced animal tracking technologies, conservation science, policy making, and research practice and reproducibility. He is well-known for his visionary, blue-skies work, employing innovative conceptual and methodological approaches to solve long-standing challenges, unlock new research opportunities, and positively disrupt conventional thinking. He feels passionate about building diverse, inclusive and empowered teams and communities, and harnessing the broader societal and conservation benefits of scientific research.
In close partnership with the , Rutz is currently preparing the launch of a community-driven initiative that will track animals in human-modified landscapes around the world, to develop evidence-based approaches to achieving sustainable human-wildlife coexistence.
Rutz has made important contributions to understanding the biological drivers of technological innovation and progress, with his long-term studies of two remarkable tool-using bird species 鈥� the famous and the near-extinct . The challenges of studying elusive wildlife sparked an interest in , including miniature wearables for animals (鈥榖io-logging鈥�). Rutz led the teams that pioneered two transformative bio-logging technologies for studying wild birds: miniature , to obtain a bird鈥檚-eye view of undisturbed behaviour, and , to autonomously record encounters in highly dynamic avian social networks.
As Founding President of the , he helped build a community of >1,200 field biologists, conservation practitioners, micro-electronics engineers, data scientists and other experts, who share an interest in using state-of-the-art technology for wildlife research and conservation. Rutz is also Co-Founder and Chair of the 鈥� a UN-endorsed global research consortium of >600 collaborators analysing animal tracking data collected before, during and after lockdowns, to advance our understanding of human鈥搘ildlife interactions and identify pathways towards sustainable coexistence. Rutz and his collaborators coined the now widely used term , which was selected by the Oxford English Dictionary as one of the , and he recently introduced the complementary concept of the .
Rutz relishes working at the science鈥損olicy interface. He contributes to work conducted under the United Nations Environment Programme鈥檚 (CMS), to recognise more fully the conservation-relevance of animals鈥� complex social lives, and co-developed a highly successful framework (), to help researchers identify, mitigate and report sampling biases in studies of animal behaviour. Both of these initiatives have developed real-world impact, with CMS signatory states passing a for protecting tool-using chimpanzees in Western Africa at COP13 in 2020 in India, and STRANGE being adopted as a policy initiative by the UK Reproducibility Network (). Most recently, Rutz has proposed an innovative strategy for harnessing the full conservation potential of animal-tracking data ( = Tag Registry for Advancing Conservation Knowledge), and has become involved in work of the of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Strategic Group on Environment, Bioeconomy and Sustainability of (Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance).
Many of Rutz鈥檚 projects involve cross-, multi- and inter-disciplinary collaboration with national and international partners, including universities (Oxford, Cambridge, MIT, Yale, Hawaii, Washington, Vienna, Leon, Los Banos, Griffiths, Tokyo), research institutions (NASA, Max Planck, Smithsonian Institution, Marine Biological Association, Senckenberg), and other initiatives and consortia (Movebank, Earth Species Project, WILDLABS, Peregrine Fund, Vertebrate Genomes Project, Move BON). His research has attracted some 拢3.4 million of grant funding since 2005, and is currently supported by the BBSRC, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and National Geographic Society.
Rutz is a National Geographic Explorer, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) and International Fellow of the Explorers Club, as well as a former Rhodes Scholar (Oxford), BBSRC David Phillips Fellow (黑料吃瓜网), and Radcliffe Fellow (Harvard). He has held numerous leadership positions, advisory roles, editorships and visiting appointments (Oxford, Tokyo, New South Wales), and received a string of prestigious academic awards and prizes, in recognition of his scientific achievements, service to the research community, and commitment to public engagement (for a selection, see below). His work is regularly published in leading scientific journals, including Nature (4) and Science (5), attracting world-wide media attention (recent Altmetric scores of , , , and ). Rutz is a seasoned and sought-after public speaker, commentator, interviewee and discussant.
Selected leadership and other professional roles
- 2024鈥撎� Advisor, Save the Elephants Continental Tracking Initiative
- 2023鈥�24 听Member, Strategic Group,
- 2022鈥撎� Contributor, Policy Team, Royal Society of Edinburgh, UK
- 2021鈥撎� Advisor, WILDLABS horizon scan (movement ecology)
- 2020鈥撎� Co-Founder and Chair,
- 2020鈥撎� Co-Founder, Initiative
- 2019鈥�24听 Senior Editor,
- 2017鈥�24听 Founding President,
- 2015鈥撎� Scientific Adviser, UN (animal cultures)
- 2014鈥�19听 Co-Director, Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences (IBANS), 黑料吃瓜网, UK
Selected awards, prizes and other honours
- 2023 听听听听听听 Award (Fifty People Changing the World, the World needs to Know About)
- 2022鈥撎� Fellow (elected), (FRSE), UK
- 2022听听听听听听听 Finalist, Science Breakthrough of the Year (Life Sciences), Germany
- 2022听听听听听听听 Explorer, Global Exploration Summit (), Explorers Club, Azores, Portugal
- 2021听听听听听听听 Endorsed Project (COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative),
- 2020鈥撎� , USA
- 2019鈥�20听 , Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, USA
- 2017听听听听听听听 Exhibit, , London, UK
- 2014听听听听听听听 Hans L枚hrl Prize, German Ornithologists鈥� Union (DO-G), Germany
- 2014听听听听听听听 Exhibit, Great British Bioscience Festival, London and Edinburgh, UK
- 2014听听听听听听听 Isambard鈥揔ingdom鈥揃runel Award, British Science Association (BSA), UK
- 2013听听听听听听听 Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), UK
- 2013鈥�18听 Member (elected), , UK
- 2009鈥�15听 BBSRC David Phillips Fellow, Universities of Oxford and 黑料吃瓜网, UK
- 2008听听听听听听听 Finalist, Technology and Innovation Awards (Environmental Technology), UK
- 2006听听听听听听听 Exhibit, Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, London/Glasgow, UK
- 2006鈥�08听 Junior Research Fellow, Linacre College, University of Oxford, UK
- 2004听听听听听听听 Oxford University Vice Chancellors鈥� Fund Award
- 2001鈥�04听 , University of Oxford, UK
- 1995鈥�01听 Scholar,
PhD supervision
- Zhifan听Xu
Selected publications
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Open access
Wessling, E. G., Whiten, A., Soiret, S., Schofield, K., Samuni, L., Rutz, C., Redmond, I., Pintea, L., Lanjouw, A., Koops, K., Kamgang, S., Kalan, A., Ikemeh, R., Humle, T., Hobaiter, C., Frisch-Nwakanma, H., Freymann, E., Doumbe, O., Brakes, P. & Abwe, E. & 1 others, , 1 May 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1925, 20240143.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Davidson, S. C., Cagnacci, F., Newman, P., Dettki, H., Urbano, F., Desmet, P., Bajona, L., Bryant, E., Carneiro, A. P. B., Dias, M. P., Fujioka, E., Gambin, D., Hoenner, X., Hunter, C., Kato, A., Kot, C. Y., Kranstauber, B., Lam, C. H., Lepage, D. & Naik, H. & 6 others, , Feb 2025, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 9, 2, p. 204-213 10 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Comment/debate 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Patchett, R., Smith, B. J., Thaxter, C. B., Burton, N. H. K., Franke, B. H., Yanco, S. W., Oliver, R. Y., Ellis-Soto, D., Tucker, M. A., Loveridge, A., Sommerfeld, J., Ossi, F., Clewley, G. D., Camphuysen, K. C. J., Desmet, P., Ramos, R., Gonz谩lez-Sol铆s, J., Green, R. M. W., Humphreys, E. M. & Johnston, D. T. & 9 others, , Dec 2025, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292, 2061, p. 1-10 10 p., 20252482 .
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Greggor, A. L., de Silva, S., Brown, C., Jesmer, B. R., Noble, D. W. A., Mueller, T., Ruiz-Miranda, C. R., Rutz, C., Scott, S. E. & Williams, J., 1 May 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1925, 20240138.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Review article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Whiten, A. & Rutz, C., 1 May 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1925, 20240140.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Yanco, S. W., Rutz, C., Abrahms, B., Cooper, N. W., Marra, P. P., Mueller, T., Weeks, B. C., Wikelski, M. & Oliver, R. Y., Jan 2025, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 40, 1, p. 47-56
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Gomez, S., English, H. M., Bejarano Alegre, V., Blackwell, P. G., Bracken, A. M., Bray, E., Evans, L. C., Gan, J. L., Grecian, W. J., Gutmann Roberts, C., Harju, S. M., Hejcmanov谩, P., Lelotte, L., Marshall, B. M., Matthiopoulos, J., Mnenge, A. J., Niebuhr, B. B., Ortega, Z., Pollock, C. J. & Potts, J. R. & 5 others, , 3 Jun 2025, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 94, 6, p. 1146-1164 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Oliver, R., Chapman, M., Ellis-Soto, D., Brum-Bastos, V., Cagnacci, F., Long, J., Loretto, M.-C., Patchett, R. B. & Rutz, C., 26 Apr 2024, In: Cell Reports Sustainability. 1, 4, 4 p., 100077.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Shaw, P., Ogada, D., Dunn, L., Buij, R., Amar, A., Garbett, R., Herremans, M., Virani, M., Kendall, C., Croes, B., Odino, M., Kapila, S., Wairasho, P., Rutz, C., Botha, A., Orsi, U. G., Murn, C., Maude, G. & Thomsett, S., 4 Jan 2024, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 8, p. 45-56
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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Open access
Schneider, W., Rutz, C. & Bailey, N. W., 22 Mar 2024, In: Ecology Letters. 27, 3, 9 p., e14404.
Research output: Contribution to journal 鈥� Article 鈥� peer-review
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