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Dr Keith Bensusan, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Keith Bensusan, BSc, MSc, PhD Image

Chair of Research And Research Degrees Committee.

University of Gibraltar:

Research Fellow
Research
Natural Sciences & Environment
Academic Board
Research & Research Degrees Committee

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4414-5573

https://independent.academia.edu/KeithBensusan

Biography

Dr Keith Bensusan joins the Academic Board as Chair of the Research and Research Degrees Committee. He has been working at the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens since 2007 and became its Director in 2011. His background is in the biological sciences and he has a broad knowledge of terrestrial natural history, most notably plants, insects and birds. His PhD, which he obtained from the University of Leeds, is in avian ecology.

In addition to his work at the Botanic Gardens, he is a member of four statutory bodies in Gibraltar: the Nature Conservancy Council, the CITES Scientific Authority, the Gibraltar Port Authority and the Development and Planning Commission. Keith’s key interests include migration ecology, the diversity, ecology and conservation of species and habitats in Gibraltar, and the succulent flora of Morocco. He also sits on the Gibraltar regional Committee for European Funding (JLAG) and is General Secretary of the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society (GONHS). He also frequently referees papers for the African Journal of Ecology and the ornithological paper Ardea and Zoology in the Middle East.

Research Interests

Dr Keith Bensusan has demonstrated his key interests as an academic researcher by having contributed to over 42 scientific peer-reviewed research publications which have been related to the biological sciences and natural history, most notably plants, insects and birds. He is particularly interested in the ecology and conservation of species and habitats in Gibraltar. His papers range from focusing on the natural history of raptor migration in the Straits of Gibraltar to studies that focus on Entomology in Gibraltar and surrounding regions (Spain and Morocco). He has contributed to studies with a particular focus on hymenoptera, formicidae, odonata, coleoptera and lepidoptera.

Selected Publications

Bensusan, K.J., Garcia, E.F.J. & Cortes, J.E. 2007. Trends in abundance of migrating raptors at Gibraltar in spring. Ardea, 95(1): 83-90.

Bensusan, K. 2009. Taxonomy and conservation status of Moroccan stapeliads (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae-Ceropegieae-Stapeliinae). Bulletin de l’Institut Scientifique, Rabat, section Sciences de la Vie, 31(2): 67-77.

Bensusan, K.J., Shorrocks, B. & Hamer, K.C. 2011. Impacts of passage migrant songbirds on behaviour and habitat use of resident Sardinian Warblers Sylvia melanocephala in Gibraltar. Ibis, 153: 616-621.

Bensusan, K.J., Nesbit, R., Perez, C.E., Tryjanowski, P. & Zduniak, P. 2014. Species composition and dynamics in abundance of migrant and sedentary butterflies (Lepidoptera) at Gibraltar during the spring period. European Journal of Entomology, 111(4): 555-559.

Yus-Ramos, R., Ventura, D., Bensusan, K., Coello-García, P., György, Z. & Stojanova, A. 2014. Alien seed beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) in Europe. Zootaxa, 3826(3): 401-448.

Full Publications List