Jake Anderson
University of York
Lead Supervisor: Prof Jane Hill
Project Title: Tropical rainforests in human-modified landscapes: biodiversity, forest regeneration and carbon storage at forest edges
Research Interests: My research examines the effects of rainforest fragmentation on tree communities in tropical agricultural landscapes. I am using a combination of field data and remotely-sensed satellite data to study changes in tree community composition and above-ground carbon stocks, in forest edges bordering oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia. This research will help us to determine the environmental impacts of oil palm expansion, and will inform the management of more sustainable oil palm landscapes into the future.
Sophie Bennett
University of Liverpool/Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH)
Lead Supervisor: Dr Francis Daunt
Research Interests: Sophie is researching the year-round population ecology and behaviour of seabirds. Her work focuses on understanding the drivers of individual variation in behaviour and how this scales up to population-level change through investigating nest site occupancy and quality, non-breeding nest site attendance, and the distribution and energetics of common guillemots.
Alexander Campbell Ball
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Prof Charles Wellman
Emma Cartledge
emma.cartledge@liverpool.ac.uk
University of Liverpool
Lead Supervisor: Prof Paula Stockley
Research Interests: I am interested in conservation ecology and genetics, particularly how we can minimise anthropogenic effects and recover populations of key species and biodiversity as a whole. My PhD research is focused on hazel dormouse conservation in the UK. I am studying the factors which may affect long-term reintroduction success, as well as working on the development of low disturbance monitoring techniques.
Twitter: @EL_Cartledge
CASE partner: Cheshire Wildlife Trust (https://www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/)
George Day
University of York
Lead Supervisor: Dr Kathryn Arnold
Research Interests: I’m researching symbiosis in freshwater invertebrates.
James Duckworth
James.Duckworth@liverpool.ac.uk
University of Liverpool
Lead Supervisor: Dr Jon Green
Research Interests: Red-throated Divers (RTD) have been identified in many studies as being extremely vulnerable to displacement by wind farms. However, there is still uncertainty about the implications of displacement and the ability of RTDs to adapt to additional stressors during their non-breeding season. I aim to use Bio-logging techniques to monitor RTD throughout their annual cycle to assess the energetic consequences of displacement. The understudied ecology of RTD also opens up many other avenues for novel results throughout the project.
I am based at University of Liverpool, with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) as my case partner. My field sites are: Southern Finland, Orkney, Shetland and Iceland.
Research group website – https://seguliverpool.wixsite.com/home/james-duckworth
Catherine Finlayson
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Prof Rob Freckleton
Project Title: Developing effective liana removal practices to restore degraded tropical forests
Research Interests: My research interests are the conservation and restoration of tropical forests. My PhD researches the restoration potential of removing lianas (woody climbing plants) from degraded tropical forests. I aim to develop a less damaging liana removal method via a large fieldwork experiment at my field site in Sabah, Borneo. I will also use satellite data to assess the impact this experiment on forest structure and use meta-analytic techniques to assess whether liana removal enhances tree growth and aboveground carbon sequestration across the tropics. Ultimately, I hope to refine liana removal so that it wholly restores degraded rainforest and recommend when and where the treatment can be applied most effectively.
Twitter: @cfinlayson_sci
Research group – http://www.edwardslab.group.shef.ac.uk/catherine-finlayson/
Poppy Jeffries
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Dr Jonathan Potts
Amy Lewis
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Prof David Beerling
Project Title: Enhancing the soil carbon sink: Towards characterising and quantifying new stabilisation methods
Research Interests: Researching mineral-organic matter interactions in basalt-amended soils. The project aims to quantify changes in the soil organic carbon sink associated with basalt amendment which could provide an additional carbon capture pathway and increase soil quality.
Research interests include experimental geochemistry, kinetic-rate determination, mineralogy, geochemical techniques (e.g. X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy) and soil processes.
Victoria Lloyd
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Dr Nicola Nadeau
Project Title: The evolutionary development of butterfly structural colour
Research Interests: I am interested in the evolutionary development of structural colour in tropical butterflies.
Lucy McMahon
University of York
Lead Supervisor: Prof Roland Gehrels
Research Interests: I am a marine scientist with broad interests in coastal wetlands, marine habitat restoration, and nature-based solutions. My PhD research investigates blue carbon [the carbon captured and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems] in salt marshes. I am interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the major drivers of spatial and temporal variation in blue carbon accumulation rates and stocks, which in turn I hope can inform effective coastal management for climate change mitigation.
Twitter: @_LucyMcMahon
Instagram (for outreach): @ocean_luce
Department project page: https://www.york.ac.uk/environment/our-staff/lucy-mcmahon/
Francesca Quell
University of Sheffield
Lead Supervisor: Dr Tom Webb
Research Interests: My research involves investigating the macroecology of biological traits in marine environments. I focus specifically on attempting to determine the biological traits that discriminate between native and non-indigenous marine invertebrates and whether biological and life history traits can be used to predict the invasive potential of species. Another aspect of my research focuses on investigating whether invasive and imperilled molluscs (gastropods and bivalves) occur at opposite ends of the life history continuum.
Lauren Rawlins
University of York
Lead Supervisor: Dr David Rippin
Project Title: The quantification of changes in supraglacial conditions on the Greenland Ice Sheet and implications for surface drainage development
Research Interests: My main interests include examining the impacts of contemporary climate change on glaciated environments, glacial geomorphology, remote sensing and UAV photogrammetry. My PhD thesis will investigate the seasonal and annual evolution of surface meltwater (supraglacial) channels on the Greenland Ice Sheet via the use of remote sensing techniques and field-based observations. My Masters thesis investigated glacioseismic signals from seasonal mass balance changes at Vatnajokull, Iceland.
Kelly Ross
University of Liverpool
Lead Supervisor: Dr Michael Berenbrink
Research Interests: My current research concentrates on the evolutionary physiology of tissue oxygenation in mammals. Despite important commonalities, more than one hundred years of study have revealed important variations in how mammals deliver O2 to their tissues, which are still incompletely understood and actively researched. I aim to expand our knowledge of mammalian respiratory physiology, test conventional assumption and identify novel drivers that are responsible for the variation in the capacity and mechanisms of tissue oxygenation.
Tom Travers
University of Liverpool
Lead Supervisor: Dr Jenny Hodgson
Research Interests: My interests lie in conservation practice and policy surrounding anthropogenic climate change. The spatial distribution of species is dynamic, and will likely become more so as our climate continues to change. Therefore, modern conservation planners need to consider not only where species are, but where they will eventually end up, and how they are likely to get there. My research uses mathematics based in electronics to model landscape connectivity, and investigate how species may use habitat as they shift their ranges in reaction to our changing climate. By doing so, I hope to highlight how these techniques could be incorporated into our conservation planning procedures, allowing actions taken today to be beneficial in the long-term.
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