Overview
I completed my undergraduate degree in Ecology at Bangor University in 2017 before gaining an MSc in Wetland Science and Conservation in 2018. After a year of working as an ecologist, I returned to research to begin a PhD at Cardiff University. My project focuses on long-term river invertebrate trends in England and Wales in the years 1991-2019.
Research
Research interests
I am interested in river ecosystems and stressors which drive trends within these communities, particularly invertebrates. My research is currently focusing on “big data” analysis, to determine trends in river invertebrate communities.
Thesis
DIAGNOSING THE REASONS FOR BIODIVERSITY DECLINE IN RURAL RIVERS
During my PhD project, I am investigating the changing state of rivers across England and Wales. Here I am using invertebrate data collected by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales alongside other available data such as water quality, flow, and land cover data. This will be used to determine how communities have been changing through time and space, and establish what stressors have been driving these trends. These findings will then inform fieldwork which will offer greater insight into the mechanisms for changes.
Supervisory team
Dr. Ian Vaughan (Cardiff University), Professor Steve Ormerod (Cardiff University), Mark Diamond (Environment Agency), Dr. Graham Rutt (Natural Resources Wales), Professor Helen Jarvie (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology).
