Welcome to the Pearse Lab

We use species evolutionary history to better understand and predict their present-day ecology. Our lab develops new statistical and computational tools to answer fundamental questions about the origins and future of biodiversity, and applies those insights to improve human wellbeing.

Our fieldsites employ a novel fractal sampling design to leverage species’ responses to existing environmental gradients to predict future responses to change. We work with a number of conservation programs, such as the EDGE of Existence Program, to help safeguard natural ecosystems and the valuable services they provide for humanity. We also maintain the Ecological Fractal Network, a global network of >40 researchers on every continent bar Antarctica seeking to better understand and preserve biodiversity worldwide.

We work directly with governments, charities, and the private sector to solve problems with biodiversity, health, and statistics/AI. If you have a problem you would like to solve, please reach out directly to Will; for governments and charities we usually work for free and for the private sector we make use of Imperial’s consultancy scheme for shorter contracts or Imperial’s industry services for larger contracts.

We are always looking for new undergraduates, MSc, and PhD students looking to join the lab, or potential post-docs interested in applying for funding. Have a look around this website and, if you’re interested, please send Will an email

We are grateful for funding from Imperial College London, UKRI/NERC, UKRI/BBSRC, the National Science Foundation, the USDA Forest Service (and in particular the PIBO program), and iDIV/sDIV, Hitachi, and others.