People

Group photo

Eco-Stats Group, 2026, left-to-right: Ao Sun, Shaoqian Huang, Grace Davenport, Ben Maslen, David Warton


David Warton photo

David I. Warton

Professor
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
UNSW Sydney

David is an ecological statistician who advances methodology for data analysis in ecology, to improve the ability of ecologists to answer important research questions. His cross-disciplinary research involves evaluating the methods for data analysis currently used in ecology, and where necessary, developing new methodologies to assist ecologists answer key research questions. He also co-founded Stats Central, the UNSW statistical consulting and collaboration unit.


Ben Maslen photo

Ben Maslen

Lecturer

Ben is an ecological statistician and data scientist with research at the intersection of statistics, artificial intelligence, and ecology, with a focus on developing methods that help ecologists monitor, assess and protect the natural environment. Ben works particularly with remote underwater video, ecological abundance data and multivariate study design.


Students

Grace Davenport photo

Grace Davenport

PhD Student

Grace Davenport is a PhD student in Mathematics and Statistics at the UNSW. Her research lies at the intersection of data science and conservation, specifically applying machine learning methods to species distribution modeling. She aims to leverage her background in biology and statistics to help answer some of our world’s most pressing ecological questions.

Shaoqian Huang photo

Shaoqian Huang

PhD Student

Shaoqian Huang is a PhD student in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW Sydney. His research focuses on statistical modelling of multivariate abundance data and its applications to biodiversity quantification. He is particularly interested in developing statistical methods for analysing complex ecological data, with a focus on biodiversity, species communities, and related ecological applications. He has also worked on ecological niche modelling using probabilistic approaches.

Where are they now?

Former Eco-Stats research students and postdoctoral researchers