Bradley W. Compton earned his M.S. from the Department of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine in 1999, where he studied the ecology of wood turtles. He received his B.S. in Wildlife Biology in 1997 from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management at the University of Massachusetts. He is currently a research associate in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Brad is currently involved in two projects: the UMass Landscape Ecology Program's Biodiversity Project project, and a field study of Blanding's turtles in eastern Massachusetts with the Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. These projects are both concerned with landscape-scale conservation, and are complementary examples of coarse- and fine-filter approaches. Brad is interested in research that supports a proactive approach to conservation by developing coarse-filter multi-species and community-based approaches and integrating these approaches with more traditional fine-filter approaches focused on endangered species.

As a member of the Biodiversity Project team, Brad works on a pilot project to map biodiversity in the 1200 km2 Housatonic watershed of western Massachusetts. The team is developing a coarse-filter approach to mapping and assessing the integrity of natural communities across the entire landscape. Based on extensive field work, satellite imagery, and other remotely-sensed data, they are producing a natural community map of the Housatonic watershed, as well as a number of "biodiversity filters" to assess the content, spatial character, context, and condition of each point in the watershed. These filters are parameterized based on the knowledge of biologists from throughout the state to assess each point's potential value to biodiversity. The results of this project will include a conservation prioritization of the study area, as well as a research tool that will help us to better understand the components of biodiversity.

Brad also works with Dr. Paul Sievert of the Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and graduate student Mark Grgurovic on a state-funded study of Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in eastern Massachusetts. The main range of Blanding's turtles is in the northern midwest, but disjunct eastern populations are scattered from the lower Hudson River to Nova Scotia, with several populations in eastern Massachusetts. Most of these populations are in areas with high development pressure and many of these populations are currently suffering unsustainable rates of road mortality. The Blanding's turtle is currently listed as threatened in Massachusetts. The group is currently radio-tracking 30 Blanding's turtles at six sites, with the goals of quantifying movement and habitat selection and better understanding demographics. Project goals include building a spatially explicit model of viability across the eastern Blanding's range, and offering specific management guidelines to the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.