MISS KATHERINE AUGUST

Biography

I am currently a NERC Case Partnership funded PhD student studying at the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of Xavier Lambin and Thomas Cornulier.My case partners are Forestry England and Natural Research Ltd. My research focuses on population dynamics across landscapes which vary in the level of protection afforded to individuals and I use goshawks in the UK to do this. Previous work I have been involved with includes diet analysis of translocated pine martens, camera trap surveys of Scottish wildcats and the impact of non-native fish stocking on native freshwater invertebrate communities. 

C.V.

2018-2022: NERC Case Partnership funded PhD: "Leaving the safety of the forest: The landscape-scale dynamics of a protected mobile species occupying areas with varying levels of protection", University of Aberdeen.

2017-2018: Masters in Science or MSc (Distinction), in Conservation and Biodiversity, University of Exeter Penryn Campus.

2013-2017: Bacheolors in Science with Honors or BSc Hons in Biological Sciences with Ecology Honors, University of Edinburgh.

Current Research

My PhD is looking at how population dynamics of a mobile species are affected by a landscape with varying levels of protection. Many species exist in a system where there has been a rapid environmental change which has caused a mismatch in the settlement cues used by dispersing juveniles and reality. As the settlement cues continue to draw individuals into the territory but the individuals experience either reduced survival, productivity or both, these areas are referred to as attractive sinks or ecological traps. The result is lower survival or productivity across a wider region, and I aim to quantify the scale of this effect.