Leonard holds a PhD from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), received in 2001 and became Docent (Associate professor) at the same university in 2008. He has been a Post Doctoral Researcher at the National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark, and Marie Curie senior research fellow and Guest Researcher at Aarhus University. He is a former deputy head of institute and head of section at the Institute of Freshwater Research, SLU and has more than 20 years’ experience as a researcher and project leader. Leonard has a keen interest in applied freshwater ecology and his research interests include: drivers for local and regional biodiversity, the functioning of ecological (river) networks, the relationship between ecosystem structure and function, scale related issues in freshwater ecology, the importance of spatial and temporal variation in assessment and monitoring, and the effects of hydrological and morphological factors on freshwater organisms. Some of his recent projects and publications focuses on climate change effects on freshwater restoration measures, multiple pressure effects on riverine ecosystems, and the evaluation of the effects of restoration measures on freshwater organisms. 

Aquatic ecology, Applied research, Aquatic ecosystems, Benthic fauna, Benthic invertebrates, Biodiversity, Biological diversity, Climate change, Community ecology, Ecological functioning, Environmental monitoring and assessment, Ecological restoration, Ecological status, Ecosystem services, Electro fishing, Environmental design, Environmental impacts, Environmental policy, EU Water Framework Directive, Fish, Habitat assessment, Hydropower, Indicator development, IPBES, Landscape connectivity, Landscape ecology, Mitigation effort, Nature-based solutions, Nordic cooperation, Protected areas, Restoration, Rivers and lakes, Running water ecosystems, Species diversity, Urban ecology

Received in June 2008, Department of Aquatic Sciences & Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Associate Professor lecture title: “Biodiversity in the riverine landscape – patterns and processes”.

Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Assessment

Received in January 2001, Department of Environmental Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Thesis title: “Spatial and temporal variability of stream benthic macroinvertebrates. Implications for environmental assessment.” Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, Silvestria 172: 37 pp.

Received in December 1995, Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Thesis title: “Physiological responses of the freshwater mussel Anodontites luteola exposed to runoff water with pesticide residues in Costa Rican banana plantations.” Master thesis 1995:8 Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, 23 pp.

Senior Researcher - Lillehammer Department, Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, Lillehammer, Norway.
Research Leader - Head of Section Nature-based solutions and Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute of Freshwater Research, Oslo, Norway.
Senior Researcher - Section of Freshwater Ecology, Norwegian Institute of Freshwater Research, Oslo, Norway.
Researcher and Associate Professor (Docent), Department of Aquatic Resources, SLU, Stockholm, Sweden.
Deputy Head of Institute and Associate Professor (Docent), Department of Aquatic Resources, SLU, Stockholm, Sweden.
Researcher and Associate Professor (Docent), Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden.
Marie Curie senior research fellow, Freshwater Ecology & Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity Group, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. 

Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Spanish, German

Invited speaker (online): COP27: Co-existence with nature – Nordic Energy Research, Sharm-El Sheikh, Egypt: “Vision project nature based solutions".
Invited speaker: 7th Session of the Nordic Council, Environment and Climate Ministers Meeting, Helsinki, Finland: “Vision project nature based solutions”.
Invited speaker: Nature-based solutions in Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, arranged by Reykjavík Energy: “Nature-based solutions in the Nordic countries”.
Invited speaker: the Nordic Council Environment Prize seminar, Thorshavn, Faroe Island (presentation given online) “Nature based solution – a versatile response to the major environmental challenges facing society”.
Keynote speaker: British Ecological Society Conference, Ecology Across Borders, Liverpool, UK (presentation given on-line): “Nature-based solutions in the Nordic countries: including some of examples for riparian zones”.
Invited speaker: National conference for Nature-based solutions and climate adaptation arranged by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Norway: “Nature-based solutions in the Nordic countries: concrete examples of active use of riparian zones along watercourses”.
Invited speaker, “River Ecology and Management week”, arranged by the River Ecology and Management – RivEM group at Karlstad University, Sweden: “Tributary temperature and water chemistry variation and its effect on the main stem river system”.
Invited speaker, “Dialogue for water resource management” arranged by the Swedish Marine and Water Agency (SWAM), Stockholm Sweden: “Perspective biological diversity - the ecosystems need for water”.  

 Vega Fellow for the Advancement of Leadership and Communication in Environmental Sciences - personal award. One of three stipend recipients awarded from the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment. The unique course was given by the Compass group (www.compassonline.org) influenced by the Leopold leadership programme at Woods hole, Stanford University.
 
S.I.L. 1987 Trust Guest Lecturer award. New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society. Objective of the fund: “To provide financial support for visits to and/or within New Zealand by eminent overseas limnologists, whose visits will benefit New Zealand's limnological research community as a whole.”