Matthew Low

My research background is diverse and spans veterinary medicine, population & behavioural ecology, epidemiology, life-history evolution and statistical methods. Recently I have begun working with social scientists to examine how gender influences teacher education in academia. Much of my research has been based on long-term monitored populations or groups with detailed individual-level data (e.g. stitchbirds, domestic cats, penguins, wolverine, honeybees, snow leopards, house crickets and academics).

Most of my research can be broadly categorised into: (1) the factors regulating the growth and structure of animal populations, and (2) using advanced statistical methods to understand causality, data collection biases and hidden processes & patterns. Together, these complementary research fields enable me to work on a number of exciting quantitative research questions which include:

- Using state-space reconstruction to determine the causal drivers of Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) infection in bank voles and people

- Impacts of viral diseases on survival and fecundity in house crickets reared for the insects-as-food industry: can disease management improve sustainability?

- The effect of observer bias in snow leopard ecological monitoring and the development of a disease monitoring network in High Asia

- Long-term trends of seabirds on the Great Barrier Reef: patterns and causes

- How gender influences teacher education in university academics

Because of the uncertainties inherent in these systems and data collection processes, one of the overriding goals in my work is to properly account for this uncertainty and to provide accurate probabilistic measures of risk or treatment effects. For this I generally use a Bayesian Hierarchical modelling approach. This provides greater flexibility in modelling the factors of interest while producing probabilistic statements on the predictions from the model. This is ideal for communicating precise estimates of uncertainty to the scientific and non-scientific community. I also teach these methods to post-graduate students.

In my teaching I work closely with the students to deliver courses that are not only relevant and applicable to their interests and skills development, but also create a working atmosphere that is co-operative, inclusive and enjoyable. Because different students have different needs, the structure of my courses allows for students to work to their own capacity and gives them the support they need to ultimately succeed. 

In 2023 I was awarded the title of 'Distinguished University Teacher' (excellent lärare) by the university, and I currently lead and teach six courses at SLU: from undergraduate to post-graduate to staff education courses. In 2024 I was awarded the student pedagogic prize for teaching by the Ultuna student union. 

Undergraduate education

Using my background in veterinary science, domestic animal behaviour & welfare, ecology and evolution, I teach two trans-disciplinary undergraduate courses for students studying animal sciences. These subjects demonstrate the importance of understanding ecology and evolution for all students working within domestic animal sciences (including vet and vet nursing students): 

Evolution and Ecology (EoD Programme) BI1393 - 15 ECTS

This is the introductory course within the Animal Behaviour and Welfare Programme (EoD) at SLU. Here the focus is on key aspects of the ecology and evolution of companion and common domestic animals that are important for people working in animal science fields. The course is based around a general and intuitive understanding of these principles with a clear demonstration of their practical application for understanding not only behaviour, but also the causes and signs of disease and welfare in animals. This course is designed to inspire the new students and to get them excitied about their ongoing possibilities for study.

Evolution and Ecology for Domestic Animal Science Students (and other amazing people) BI1425 - 7.5 ECTS

This online part-time course (running in the spring semester) provides a deep understanding of evolutionary and ecological processes and how they can be applied by animal scientists (including veterinary and vet nursing students and professionals) to enrich their understanding of animal biology, behaviour, disease, medicine and culture. The course primarily focusses on how evolutionary history and ecology have shaped the biology of animals, including the expression of disease and disease management in domestic animals. My aim is to show the importance of ecological thinking that takes students beyond the usual focus of courses within veterinary and animal science programmes. These perspectives are vital for student understanding for being able to problem-solve issues associated with animal behaviour, disease management and welfare. In the course I demonstrate the general utility of these ideas by showing how an understanding of human culture (i.e. memes in our brains) can also be explained using the same ideas. The course is designed so that it can be taken by students already enrolled in full-time programme studies, or people working with animals who can’t afford to take time off for regular university courses.

evolution and ecology course (for more information click this link)

Postgraduate education

I teach two postgraduate courses each year through the SLU doctoral research schools. These courses were designed to fill a gap in the teaching of modern statistical programming and modelling skills to post-graduate researchers

Programming in R

This 1-week intensive course teaches our young researchers how to use R to fit their specific research questions by teaching R as a language. This gives them the programming flexibility they need to work in this modern statistical platform.

Bayesian Hierarchical Modelling (for beginners and beyond)

This 2-week intensive course takes students from understanding the fundamentals of Bayesian methods right through to being able to implement hierarchical models of any design they choose. The emphasis is teaching students flexible methods to handle the questions they want to ask of their data.

Staff education

In 2023 I began leading the (English language) courses in 'Teaching in Higher Education (Basic Course)' run through the Unit for Educational Development (EPU) at SLU. These courses run twice per year in person, and twice per year on zoom. I am excited to have this opportunity to work with new teachers and young academics in helping them develop their teacher identity and teaching skills in academia.

In 2025 I started working as the project leader for the 'AI for Educators' programme at SLU. This programme is designed to support our teachers develop their understanding of AI and how to best implement it for student learning and teaching practice. 

Mentoring early-career researchers

I also work with young researchers in Sweden, Africa and Nepal to help them develop their skills in scientific writing, applying for grant funding and statistical analyses.

I collaborate with many research groups within the university, and researchers, government stakeholders and NGOs from all over the world. These include the honeybee disease research group, the small mammal zoonoses research group and the sustainable insects-as-food research group at SLU. I also collaborate with questions in relation to teacher education at the Unit for Education Development, and with gender and educational researchers at the Department of Urban and Rural Development.

Internationally I work with the Snow Leopard Trust in Mongolia & India, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia, Makarere University in Uganda, the National Trust for Nature Conservation in Nepal, the Depatment of Conservation in New Zealand and the Australian Antarctic Division in Australia & Antarctica.

My undergraduate and professional background is in veterinary science and applied animal behaviour (1988-1998 University of Queensland & Kessels Rd Veterinary Hospital). I worked in clinical veterinary practice for 5 years where I developed my skills in avian and wildlife medicine, applied animal behaviour therapy and small animal internal medicine.

From 1999-2004 I worked as a field biologist, veterinary consultant and PhD researcher in New Zealand on endangered bird species (Department of Conservation & Massey University). During ths time I helped develop national protocols for disease management for a number of species conservation programmes (stitchbird and kakapo).

From 2005-2007 I worked in Antarctica as a researcher testing new methods for surveying Adelie penguins (Australian Antarctic Division) as part of an international monitoring effort examining the impact of fishing in the Southern Ocean.

Since 2007 I have been working as a researcher at SLU on various projects related to population ecology, epidemiology and statistical methodology. Most recently I have become increasingly interested in questions related to gender bias in academia and the factors influencing staff educational development.

I work with many MSc and PhD students across departments and faculties in providing support for their development in key skills areas: writing and structuring manuscripts, statistics and R programming. In an official capactity I have supervised 5 PhD students to completion.

Latest Publications (2020-2025)

Bhusal, Ghimire, Low M, Rosin, Timilsina. 2025. The diversity and nesting preferences of birds along an urban-rural gradient in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Urban Ecosystems, 28: 1-13

Auffret, Ladouceur, Haussmann, Daouti, Elumeeva, Kačergytė, Knape, Kotowska, Low M, Onipchenko, Paquet, Rubene, Plue. 2024. A global database of soil seed bank richness, density, and abundance. Ecology, 105 (11)

Lopes, Low M, Martín-Hernández, de Miranda, Pinto. 2024. Varroa destructor shapes the unique viral landscapes of the honey bee populations of the Azores archipelago. PLoS Pathogens. 20: e1012337

Chan, Lam, Naing, Cheong, Lee, Cowling, Low M. 2024. Examining pharmacoepidemiology of antibiotic use and resistance in first-line antibiotics: a self-controlled case series study of Escherichia coli in small companion animals. Frontiers in Antibiotics. 3: 1321368.

Lopes, Low M, Martín-Hernández, de Miranda, Pinto. 2024. Origins, diversity, and adaptive evolution of DWV in the honey bees of the Azores: the impact of the invasive mite Varroa destructor. Virus Evolution 10: veae053

Pärt, Jepsson, Paquet, Arlt, Laugen, Low M, Knape, Qvanström, Forslund. 2024. Unclear relationships between mean survival rate and its environmental variance in vertebrates. Ecology and Evolution. 14:e11104

Bhusal, Awasthi, Low M, Shrestha, Neupane, Paudel, Chhetri, Parajuli. 2024. What Determines the Adoption of Agroforestry Practices in Farmlands and Public Lands? A Case Study from the Terai Region in Nepal. Society and Natural Resources. 37:234

Esson, Samelius, Strand, Lundkvist, Michaux, Råsbäck, Wahab, Mijiddorj, Berger, Skerratt, Low M. 2024. The prevalence of rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens in the South Gobi desert region of Mongolia. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. 13:2270258

Aronsson, Andren, Low M, Persson. 2023. Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females. Wildlife Biology. 4:e01079

Rubene, Low M, Brodin. 2023. Birds differentially prioritise visual and olfactory foraging cues depending on habitat of origin and sex. Royal Society Open Science. 10:221336

Nyamukuru, Whitney, Tabuti, Esaete & Low M. 2023. Allometric models for aboveground biomass estimation of small trees and shrubs in African savanna ecosystems. Trees, Forests & People. 11:100377  

Johansson, Mishra, Chapron, Samelius, Low M. 2022. Seasonal variation in daily activity patterns of snow leopards and their prey. Scientific Reports. 12:21681

Kandel, Ghimire, Silai & Low M. 2022. Potential impact of trophy hunting on vigilance and flight behaviour in Blue Sheep (Bharal: Pseudois nayaur). Global Ecology & Conservation. 40:e02317.

Ball, Uhlhorn, Eksell, Olsson, Ohlsson & Low M. 2022. Repeatability of radiographic assessments for feline hip dysplasia suggest consensus scores in radiology are more uncertain than commonly assumed. Scientific Reports 12:13916

Ghimire, Panthi, Bhusal, Low M, Pandey, Ghimire. 2022. Nesting habitat suitability and breeding of Asian woollyneck in Nepal. Ornithology Research 1-9

Low M, Eksell, Jansson & Berggren. 2022. Viral infection changes the expression of personality traits in an insect species reared for consumption. Scientific Reports 12:9503

Rosin, Pärt, Low M, Kotowska, Tobolka, Szymański & Hiron. 2022. Village modernization and reduced abundance of farmland birds: why compensation for lost nesting sites may not be enough. Conservation Letters. 2022:e12879.

Klein, Low M, Sjögren, Eggers. 2022. Short-term experimental support for bird diversity retention measures during thinning in European boreal forests. Forest Ecology & Management 509:120084

Panthi, Payiyar & Low M. 2022. Factors influencing the global distribution of the endangered Egyptian vulture. Scientific Reports. 11:21901

Paquet, Knape, Arlt…Åkesson & Low M. 2021. Integrated population models poorly estimate the demographic contribution of immigration. Methods in Ecology & Evolution. 10:1899

Klein, Low M, Thor, Sjögren, Lindberg, Eggers. 2021. Tree species identity and composition shape the epiphytic lichen community of structurally simple boreal forests over vast areas. PLoS One. 16:e0257564

Mishra, Samelius…Low M…Johansson. 2021. Increasing risks for emerging infectious diseases within a rapidly changing High Asia. Ambio. 3:494

Locke, Thaduri…Low M…deMiranda. 2021. Adapted tolerance to virus infections in four geographically distinct Varroa destructor-resistant honeybee populations. Scientific Reports. 11

Woodworth, Fuller, Hemson, McDougall, Congdon & Low M. 2021. Trends in seabird breeding populations across the Great Barrier Reef. Conservation Biology 35:846.

deMiranda, Granberg, Low M…Berggren. 2021. Virus diversity and loads in crickets reared for feed: implications for husbandry. Frontiers in Vet Science. 8:642085

Johansson, Ausilio, Low M…Sharma. 2021. The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs. Mammalian Biology 101:173.

Rosin, Pärt, Low M, Kotowska, Tobolka, Szymański & Hiron. 2021. Village modernization may contribute more to farmland bird declines than agricultural intensification. Conservation Letters. 14:e12843

Ghimire, Ghimire, Low M & Pandey. 2021. The Asian Woollyneck Ciconia episcopus: A review of its status, distribution and ecology. Ornithological Science. 20:223

Paquet, Arlt, Knape, Low M, Forslund, Pärt. 2020. Why we should care about movements: Using spatially explicit integrated population models to assess habitat source–sink dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology. 89:2922.

Kanuch, Kiehl, Lundhagen, Laugen, Low M, Berggren. 2020. Gene flow relates to evolutionary divergence among populations at the range margin. PeerJ. e10036

Klein J, Thor G, Low M, Sjögren J, Lindberg E, Eggers S. 2020 What is good for birds is not always good for lichens: interactions between forest structure and species richness in managed boreal forests. Forest Ecology & Management. 473: 118327

Josefsson, Hiron, … Low M… Pärt T. 2020 Improving scientific rigour in conservation evaluations and a plea deal for transparency on potential biases. Conservation Letters. 13:e12726

Aronsson, Åkesson, Low M, Persson J, Andren H. 2020. Resource dispersion and relatedness interact to explain space use in a solitary predator. Oikos.129:1174

Johansson, Samelius, Wikberg, Chapron, Mishra, Low M. 2020. Identification errors in camera-trap studies result in systematic population overestimation. Scientific Reports. 10: 6393

Adhikari B, Odden M, Adhikari B, Panthi S, Lopez-Bao JV, Low M. 2020. Livestock husbandry practices and herd composition influence leopard-human conflict in Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 25: 62-69.