PhD Projects

Supervisor: Prof Claire Wallace
email: [email protected]
Location: University of Aberdeen
Non-academic partner: NESBP

Project summary

The Biodiversity Strategy 2045 outlines Scotland’s ambition to become nature-positive by 2030, calling for transformative and collaborative action to address the nature emergency. Statutory nature recovery targets, aligned with the Convention on Biological Diversity, require monitoring not only ecological indicators but also people’s attitudes towards nature recovery. This is particularly crucial in urban areas, where substantial potential exists for biodiversity restoration by enhancing public and private green spaces. For instance, Glasgow and Aberdeen City Councils have implemented biodiversity improvement measures such as the Flagship Parks for Pollinators, the Meadow-in-a-Box initiative with Aberdeen City Countryside Rangers, the Connecting Nature project, and Green Connectors sites in Glasgow.

The development of nature markets for biodiversity net gain in Scotland presents significant opportunities for urban biodiversity enhancements to compensate for biodiversity losses in rural areas. However, public resistance has arisen toward certain urban nature restoration measures, such as reduced mowing, wildflower meadow planting, or leaving space for nature, which can result in “messy” landscapes that clash with ingrained expectations about the appearance of public parks and gardens (Wartmann and Lorimer 2024).

This project aims to better understand the contributions of urban nature restoration to both biodiversity and societal benefits. The specific objectives are:

1. Assess public perceptions of the (dis)benefits of urban nature recovery measures through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey incorporating photo-elicitation. This approach will evaluate attitudes toward specific local initiatives rather than general preferences (e.g., wildflowers vs. no-mow). Key collaborators include Aberdeen and Glasgow City Councils and the North East Scotland Local Biodiversity Partnership (NESBiP), which translates national policy into local action. The project will examine perspectives from the general public and key staff involved, such as gardeners and managers.
2. Collate and analyse biodiversity data in identified study areas in Aberdeen and Glasgow to measure alpha diversity (species and functional group richness) and beta diversity (differences in community composition) in public parks and other sites where biodiversity measures have been implemented through existing datasets (e.g. from project GALLANT via supervisor DD), as well as assess the spatial distribution of biodiversity measures.
3. Integrate ecological and social data into a statistical multilevel model to evaluate how biodiversity enhancement approaches, biodiversity levels, and socio-demographic factors influence societal benefits and disbenefits.

By combining social and ecological approaches, this project will provide insights into how urban biodiversity restoration can simultaneously advance ecological goals and societal well-being for societally equitable biodiversity recovery.

Supervisor: Dr Fergus Chadwick
email: [email protected]
Location: University of St Andrews
Non-academic partner: NatureScot, BioSS, UKCEH

Project summary

Wild salmonids, including Atlantic salmon, brown trout, and sea trout, are vital components of Scotland’s natural capital. They provide key ecosystem services, including marine-to-freshwater nutrient cycling and food-web regulation, and contribute an estimated £80m/year to the Scottish economy. Their populations are declining due to the pressures of habitat degradation, disease, climate change, pollution, and overfishing. They are also expected to come under increased threat from the invasive Pink Salmon. The diverse benefits and threats to our wild salmonids correspond to a diverse set of stakeholders, from anglers and the tourism trade to the Scottish Government and conservation charities. For all these groups, understanding salmonid abundance at the local and national levels can facilitate better interventions to protect and develop their value in nature markets. While these groups have ostensibly shared goals to protect salmonids, their aims can be distinct and contradictory leading to ethical dilemmas about which to prioritise. For example, some angling groups may favour large-scale stocking programs and welcome the invasive Pink Salmon, while some conservation groups may prioritise the genetic purity of wild populations and wish to eradicate invasive species.

In this project, the student will 1) explore these ethical trade-offs using systematic approaches from analytic philosophy, 2) develop statistical models of salmonid abundance that integrate the data available, and 3) propose an integrated framework for combining the two to navigate intervention decisions.
To achieve these objectives, the student will:

• Objective 1: use philosophical tools, such as consequentialism and virtue ethics, to analyze ethical dilemmas in salmonid conservation. Candidate interventions like invasive Pink Salmon eradication and stocking programs will highlight conflicts between economic and ecological priorities. Stakeholder values gathered through interviews and literature review will inform decision matrices, clarifying trade-offs and guiding integrated ethical analyses.
• Objective 2: create statistical models combining high-quality but sparse monitoring data (e.g., fish counters, eDNA) with abundant yet biased opportunistic data (e.g., angler records). Bayesian hierarchical models will address uncertainties and leverage complementary strengths of data types while incorporating state-of-the-art modelling techniques such as lagged spatiotemporal effects. These models will be validated using structured prediction tasks.
• Objective 3: use the fitted statistical models to generate realistic outcomes based on proposed interventions. These predictions will allow the ethical trade-offs to be quantified from data and decisions to be made with full uncertainty propagation. The student will then present these predictions to the key stakeholders for feedback.
  

Supervisor: Dr Lydia Cole
email: [email protected]
Location: University of St Andrews
Non-academic partner: Corrour Estate

Project summary

Aim: To design alternative approaches to funding the recovery of carbon-rich ecosystems in the UK, which: (i) focus on ‘bundled’ metrics for ecosystem health; and, (ii) consider a diversity of public and private funding mechanisms capable of supporting nature-positive futures.

Rationale: The voluntary carbon market is expected to be a significant contributor to the restoration of the UK’s damaged peatlands. This market, governed by the UK Peatland Code, is structured to direct private finance to peatlands where there is a qualitative, positive change in peatland condition associated with a quantitative reduction in carbon emissions, demonstrating that an intervention has set the ecosystem on the “road to recovery” (IUCN UK Peatland Programme). However, full recovery, and re-establishing a resilient ecosystem, entails longer-term investment and a focus on nurturing ecological integrity, of which biodiversity forms the central tenet. There is still limited understanding of how plant and animal species assemblages change along the restoration pathway, how we might monitor those changes (using low-cost, scalable methods), and how those measurements could feature in a bundled package of ‘benefits’ from peatlands. An operational definition of a ‘restored’ peatland is also lacking. This project will investigate the design of a more holistic investment mechanism to support the long-term recovery of peatlands in the UK. 

Objectives:

1. Establishing methods for monitoring recovery: Trial a variety of scalable methods and metrics for accurately monitoring and reporting on changes in carbon and biodiversity in peatlands under restoration over time, based on approaches deployed in current ecosystem service market mechanisms and nature recovery schemes in the UK, e.g., UK Peatland Code, UK Government’s Environmental Land Management Scheme, and internationally, e.g., Moor Futures;
2. Understanding patterns of nature recovery: Using methods identified through Obj. 1, establish trajectories of change in response to restoration and habitat maintenance interventions, by quantifying the relationship between carbon emissions and key biodiversity metrics (indicative of peatland health), in peatlands at Corrour at varying stages of restoration
3. Exploring current mechanisms for funding recovery: Complete a SWOT analysis of different mechanisms designed to incentivise and support nature recovery in the UK and abroad, e.g., Facility for Investment Ready Nature, Peatland Standard for Ireland, Valuta voor Veen in the Netherlands; and,
4. Designing investment packages for peatland management: Building on learnings from Objs. 1-3, design an investment-ready package that bundles positive changes in biodiversity and carbon, which could attract private and public investment in high-integrity peatland restoration initiatives. 

Supervisor: Prof Phil Stephens
email: [email protected]
Location: Durham University
Non-academic partner: Office for Environmental Protection

Project summary

The Environment Act 2021 sets bold commitments to address the loss of biodiversity in England. Most strikingly, these are represented by legally binding, statutory targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, to increase abundance by 2042 by at least 10% relative to 2022 levels, and to reduce extinction risk by improving the Red List Index for England by 2042 (compared to 2022). These targets are set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP; https://tinyurl.com/govteip). Mechanisms to achieve these targets rest heavily on agri-environment schemes and nature market approaches. As set out in the Nature Markets Framework (https://tinyurl.com/govtnatmkts), markets include both ‘compliance’ (principally, Biodiversity Net Gain and the nutrient neutrality market) and ‘voluntary’ (such as the Woodland Carbon Code, Peatland Code and emerging marine net gain) schemes.

Different markets will see different levels of uptake and impact on different geographic areas (with different impacts on the EIP target indicators). Determining the potential for nature markets to assist with meeting the EIP targets and identifying the time course of expectations which would suggest that progress is on track are hindered by knowledge gaps. Specifically, the likely spatial variation and time course of uptake of different nature markets is unknown (a social science knowledge gap), and the likely impact of uptake on the metrics by which the targets can be evaluated is also unknown (an ecological knowledge gap).

Here, we propose to investigate the plausible impacts of nature markets on the metrics by which the EIP targets will be evaluated (the species abundance and Red List indices). Our ultimate aim is to project plausible scenarios of nature market uptake and their outcomes for biodiversity indices, to make it possible to evaluate whether progress is on track to meet government targets. Specific objectives are to:

1. Review literature to determine the likely impacts and associated uncertainty of units of nature market implementation on EIP target indices;
2. Use a combination of expert interviews and quantitative public surveys to identify attitudes towards nature markets and identify socio-economic and socio-demographic factors influencing these attitudes;
3. Combine information from 1 and 2 in quantitative modelling approaches to predict impacts of plausible scenarios of nature market uptake on EIP target indices;
4. Use the outcomes of 3 to propose a framework for monitoring progress towards the EIP targets, with a specific focus on identifying points at which novel interventions will be required.

Supervisor: Dr. Flurina Wartmann
email: [email protected]
Location: University of Aberdeen
Non-academic partner: Office for Environmental Protection

Project summary

The UK Government aims to improve the marine environment, addressing conservation and sustainable use amid competing demands. In England, the Environmental Improvement Plan (https://tinyurl.com/yc4jt485) highlights using the established biodiversity net gain (BNG) mechanism for land and developing a new marine net gain (MNG) scheme to enhance both terrestrial and marine habitats. In 2022, Defra outlined its consultation on the principles of MNG, focusing on environmental improvements and both strategic and site-based approaches. A summary of the consultation (https://tinyurl.com/2s3j3xnm) revealed general support for MNG principles but differing views on policy specifics. The scope of this project is to integrate stakeholder attitudes and priorities with ecological modelling of scenarios on MGN mechanisms. The objectives of this project, are:

1. To expand on this consultation and explore the perspectives of stakeholder groups regarding the proposed MNG scheme and its implementation. Stakeholders will include ecologists, policymakers, developers, conservation NGOs, private financiers and the general public. We will primarily employ social science methods such as participatory workshops, focus groups, and interviews to assess attitudes toward compensation across multiple ecological dimensions, including value, function, and risk.
2. To integrate perspectives from this in-depth stakeholder assessment into ecological models and compare model outputs with/without social science input. One example is the Ecopath with Ecosim which can incorporate the cultural service value of different taxa into the model, and the StrathE2E ecological models, which allows assessing effects of measures like reducing fishing as a way of increasing biodiversity as likely one of the important ways of compensating for loss of biodiversity elsewhere at scale. Key topics to be examined and modelled depend on stakeholder perceptions and priorities but may include, for example, onshore compensation facilitating offshore infrastructure development, integrating artificial habitats such as underwater infrastructure, and how marine net gain metrics incorporate different types of biodiversity (alpha/gamma diversity). The model outputs then serve as input for the final objective.
3. We will bring back the modelled scenario to stakeholders for discussion. We will use serious spatial planning games to assess stakeholder opinions to the different scenarios presented. Finally, to deliberate potential solutions to perceived challenges presented in the scenarios, the project will use creative and arts-based methods in a workshop setting, including future visioning as a graphical approach that has been successfully used to deliberate a range of future scenarios (Nalau and Cobb 2022) and develop shared future visions for MNG. 

Supervisor: Prof. Ian Lawson
email: [email protected]
Location: University of St Andrews
Non-academic partner: Corrour Estate

Project summary

The objectives of this project are:

1. To develop new Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing (UAV-RS) methods, and derived metrics, to support evidence-based biodiversity and carbon management in the Scottish uplands.
2. To develop methods to combine UAV-RS with airborne- and satellite-based RS to upscale monitoring, increase its frequency, and/or reduce costs.
3. To analyse and make recommendations on the ethical, social, and political implications of using remotely measured and algorithmically processed metrics in environmental management.

UAV-RS technologies have developed dramatically in the last decade. In the context of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), many highly useful methods are on the verge of becoming routine but presently still require careful handling. For example, UAV-RS vegetation mapping before and after a peatland restoration project gives a much more complete picture than traditional ground surveys alone, but requires bespoke calibration using field data; links between UAV-RS data and emerging standard metrics of biodiversity or ecosystem integrity remain unclear; and upscaling from UAV-RS to a regional scale using airborne/satellite RS is challenging. The huge potential of UAV-RS to support environmental management has yet to be fully realised.

However, as RS technologies become more capable, we need to consider not just what they can be used for, but how they should be used. What ethical and surveillance issues are raised by the increasing use of UAV surveillance technologies? How can UAV-RS data and analyses contribute to the democratic process, rather than simply reinforcing existing technocracies? How should ethical considerations influence BNG monitoring methods in practice? The literature on justice and ethics in conservation remote sensing is presently very small.

This project will focus on a landscape context where the latest fixed-wing UAVs, combining long-range, moderate cost, and centimetre-scale resolution, promise a step change in our ability to monitor environmental change. The Scottish uplands are a contested region, in that the priorities of landowners and managers often conflict with those of other sections of society, from national government downwards. Substantial change is underway in upland management, with a new focus on landscape-scale biodiversity and carbon storage, inspired by various narratives/drivers, e.g. rewilding, biodiversity or carbon financing, and yet the evidence base to support management decision-making (e.g. selecting appropriate methods of peat revegetation) is limited. Meanwhile, long-term monitoring is beginning to reveal the extent to which these management goals will be confounded by ongoing climatic change. Thus this project is both important and timely.

Supervisor: Dr Laurence De Clippele
email: [email protected]
Location: University of Glasgow
Non-academic partner: CreditNature

Project summary

Marine ecosystems are essential for planetary health, carbon storage, and supporting biodiversity. However, they face increasing threats from human activities and environmental degradation, necessitating urgent restoration efforts. Rewilding, a restoration approach focused on creating self-sustaining ecosystems, offers a pathway to biodiversity net gain and delivering societal benefits. Funding for such initiatives is likely to increase from emergent nature markets that finance biodiversity through activities such as seagrass and oyster bed restoration. Such financing requires reliable metrics to measure rewilding progress and success, which are currently lacking for marine efforts.

This PhD project will provide a robust, scalable framework for monitoring marine rewilding in relation to emergent nature markets and biodiversity offsetting. CreditNature is this project’s industry partner, who developed the world’s first externally accredited framework for terrestrial ecosystems, however, they lack the expert knowledge of marine ecosystems. This project supports the creation of measurable, market-ready ecological assets, which will be directly relevant to CreditNature and other nature finance organisations requiring robust data on investment in nature credits. It will enable CreditNature to replicate its successes to marine environments, enabling nature-positive outcomes at an even greater scale. The project will use data from Loch Craignish (with SeaWilding), open-source datasets, and newly collected field data. The objectives of this project are:

1. Literature Review – Evaluate how current marine rewilding projects evaluate their ecological and social impacts; their compatibility with nature markets/compliance mechanisms and CreditNature’s framework [1]. 
2. Acoustic Indicators – Develop acoustic-based metrics by using acoustic biodiversity indices, fine-tuning existing fish sound detectors, and estimating photosynthesis rates from bubble-popping sounds [2]. Rewilding at Loch Craignish started in May 2023 (rhizome planting), with acoustic data available before and during the restoration (January – October 2023).
3. Geospatial Indicators – Development of landscape-based metrics, using machine-learning modelling approaches to model current and future changes to the landscape because of the rewilding in relation to carbon storage in sediments and oyster shells [3].
4. Societal Indicators – Design metrics to evaluate societal benefits such as changes in fishing and tourism, and immaterial benefits such as effects on well-being and sense of place. Existing societal and cultural indicators will be tested and further developed [4] to empirically measure socio-economic benefits.
5. Integrate – Integrate the metric framework into the CreditNature Platform, which reports metrics while highlighting uncertainty to predict the extent to which rewilding mitigates negative human impacts and enhances ecological integrity. 

References: [1] http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0433; [2] https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71975-2; [3] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2023.101565; [4] Waterman and McIlvenny & Wartmann, in prep 

Supervisor: Prof. Stephen Willis
email: [email protected]
Location: Durham University
Non-academic partners: Natural England, Durham County Council, Durham Wildlife Trust

Project summary

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in England, aims to compensate for biodiversity lost to development by replacing equivalent biodiversity, plus a 10% uplift. To implement BNG, DEFRA anticipates the emergence of a market for biodiversity units, enabling developers to purchase units as part of the planning process. The policy envisions that private markets will meet much of this demand, with Natural England a broker of last resort for biodiversity credits.

To achieve the biodiversity gains promised by BNG, more landholders require incentivisation to participate. In economic terms, increased participation enables “thicker” markets, characterized by greater transaction volume, price transparency, and market stability, which can enhance confidence among participants. From an ecological perspective, isolated offset projects often have a higher failure risk compared to those integrated into larger initiatives (e.g., ecosystem-based conservation banks, and regional conservation plans). A robust market with broader landholder involvement is more likely to support integrated conservation strategies, thereby delivering biodiversity outcomes.

1. Objective 1 of this PhD explores the potential for private biodiversity credit providers to enter the BNG market, and assesses their associated risks and financial models to manage BNG land, given different potential BNG unit trading values. We will work through such scenarios using Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT; CASE partner) as an example private BNG provider and assess the potential for BNG to cover the costs of purchasing and managing new land and enhancing current land, for biodiversity.
2. Objective 2 of the PhD evaluates the extent to which BNG has the potential to deliver Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) across England, despite BNG units being assessed using only basic habitat metrics. We will explore, using recent ecological and economic data, the extent to which BNG risks delivering an excess of the ‘cheapest’ habitats, and hence a surfeit of some habitats, without achieving wider conservation benefits. Across pilot sites, BNG enhanced plant but not bird or butterfly biodiversity. Here, we will explore (via monitoring) the extent to which BNG is delivering equivalent or enhanced biodiversity across newly designated sites (and using similarly created/managed habitats as longer-term proxies). We will further explore the ability of BNG to deliver on LNRS goals, using County Durham as a case study LNRS region, liaising with Durham County Council (DCC) LRNS team. We will also explore the potential and cost implications, for site managers to target local biodiversity, rather than solely delivering the more generic objectives.

Supervisor: Dr Thomas Bodey
email: [email protected]
Location: University of Aberdeen
Non-academic partner: NIRAS

Project summary

Invasive species (IS) are a key driver of anthropogenic global change, causing extensive socioeconomic and ecological damage, particularly on islands where they have caused thousands of actual/functional extinctions worldwide. The eradication of IS is a demonstrably effective tool for island restoration, powerfully demonstrating how local efforts can address a global driver. Removing predatory mammals brings particular benefits, notably through the recovery of seabirds – key island ecosystem engineers. Eradications restore nutrient cycles and ecosystem dynamics, increase revenue streams (e.g. ecotourism) and reduce socioeconomic losses (e.g. from synanthropic rodents). Given the significant multi-sectoral benefits rapidly achieved through island restoration, addressing these knowledge gaps will support the emerging policy area of marine net get (MNG). MNG differs from terrestrial net gain by focusing not only on equivalence but with calls to consider species, habitats and ecosystem recovery.

However, most successful eradications occur on uninhabited islands, and challenges surrounding community support mean we lack effective techniques for inhabited islands. While eradications always require clear communication given the task involved, on inhabited islands local community involvement, ideally with local leadership, is essential for success. Understanding why individuals and communities are motivated to support or oppose projects, what drives preferences, and how mitigation could enhance acceptability is therefore crucial.

This project will generate the much-needed socioeconomic understanding around island eradications that will facilitate consistently achieving community-supported and ultimately community-led, efforts that deliver effective ecological and socioeconomic gains. Using in-depth case studies (e.g. Channel Islands) and existing networks we will:

1. Conduct qualitative and quantitative social science studies (e.g. interviews, focus groups) to identify key themes around stakeholder support and participation, and socioeconomic and cultural priorities and concerns, relating to island restoration measures.
2. Evidence factors influencing public acceptance or rejection of measures across contexts using economic survey methods (e.g. discrete choice experiments). While ecological techniques for IS management are broadly transferable among contexts, we know little about the factors influencing social motivations and perspectives (e.g. age or occupations), even among within-island contexts.
3. Create and disseminate a multidisciplinary toolkit to governmental, non-governmental, industry and community stakeholders to empower diverse collaborations to broaden the potential for island restoration.

By demonstrating clear and measurable uplifts in ecosystem function through the removal of IS and the recovery of ecological processes, island restoration emerges as a tangible, scalable contribution to achieving the ambitious goals of MNG.

Supervisor: Dr. Adrian Brennan
email: [email protected]
Location: Durham University
Non-academic partner: Plantlife

Project summary

Biodiversity spans ecosystems to genetic diversity. Yet, for practicality, many nature market schemes measure biodiversity as habitat creation/improvement, to be traded against declining biodiversity (or other target assets). In such schemes, plant species used often come from non-local growers, using mass-produced stock of unknown provenance. Yet, research shows that plants imported from one region to another can perform very differently. Despite the rapid proliferation of UK habitat creation schemes, there is currently little or no consideration of the provenance of the seed stock used. With the advent of BNG, local provenance issues become more pronounced, as land managers increasingly augment native areas with non-local stock. Hence, BNG risks reducing biodiversity at the genetic level, as unique locally adapted genes are lost to genetic swamping by cultivated plants. Yet, there has been almost no exploration of the necessity for defining BNG provenance zones for plant reproductive material. Similarly, the value of BNG from a public good perspective remains under-researched.

1. Our first objective explores, for the first time, genetic variation among UK populations of wildflower species used in BNG schemes. We will focus on grassland species (a major BNG habitat) with contrasting dispersal and pollination syndromes. We will utilise expertise within Plantlife (our CASE partner), to identify sampling sites.  We will purchase equivalent species from commercial suppliers to explore their relationships with local and national genotypes. Preliminary pilot data from Durham provides compelling early evidence that commercially sourced seeds differ genetically from UK regional samples. We will use ddRADSeq methods (applied successfully by us in similar studies) to measure population-level genetic variation. We will use these data to define provenance zones for plants used in BNG and determine whether a consistent zoning scheme is appropriate for all species.
2. Our second objective explores the socio-economic value of habitats created and improved under BNG. Using established social science methods, we will measure the value to people of habitats created, and species used, in BNG, as well as the value attributed to local versus non-local plants in projects.
3. Our final objective is to work with our CASE partner and other BNG stakeholders to ensure our findings are incorporated into future good practice, hence, co-developing the science and practice of future BNG.