NERC funded CASE PhD in the Environment Department at the
University of York
Title: The effects of peatland restoration on the
breeding and foraging of European Nightjars
Ecological restoration of key habitats is going to play an
increasingly important role in conservation, as we tackle the challenges of
changing societal demands on land and water resources, as well as changes in
climate. However, we still lack much of the understanding required to ensure
that our restoration efforts are effective.
Lowland peatland is one habitat that is under significant
threat from environmental and societal change. It is important in providing
many ecosystem services, and is also a critical habitat for many threatened
species. One of the most charismatic of these is the European nightjar. This
project will focus on the effects of a large-scale peatland restoration on a
population of European nightjars.
The British nightjar population declined throughout much of
the 20th century, due mainly to loss of peat and heathland, the nightjar’s
traditional feeding and breeding habitats. Although the population has
increased in numbers in recent decades, its range has not expanded, and more
information is needed on the individual- and habitat-level responses of
nightjars to peatland management interventions.
Natural England, the CASE partner on this studentship
project, has been awarded a grant from the EU LIFE+ programme to support
important conservation work on Humberhead Peatlands NNR, near Doncaster. The
site is designated as a Special Area of Conservation for its habitat and as a
Special Protection Area for its importance as a breeding habitat for nightjars.
This studentship will involve monitoring the responses of a
breeding population of nightjars to the active restoration of the peatland.
Working with staff from Natural England, the student will track nightjars
fitted with electronic tags to determine their foraging and breeding habitat
preferences. Seasonal variation in the consumption of invertebrates will be
determined using pellet analysis and a molecular barcode approach. Traditional
ecological methods for censusing nightjars will be compared with non-invasive
genetic profiling. Finally, the breeding habitat preferences and nesting
success of individual nightjars following the peatland restoration will be determined
and compared with the long-term historical data.
This project is part of the NERC Doctoral Training
Partnership in Adapting to the Challenges of a Changing Environment (ACCE) and
will be supervised by Dr Kathryn Arnold (York), Dr Alistair Darby (Liverpool),
Professor Piran White (York) & Dr Julian Small (Natural England).
The project will start Oct 2015 and is competitively funded.
UK/EU students only.
For further information and to discuss your suitability for
this project please email: Kathryn.Arnold@york.ac.uk
--
Dr Kathryn Arnold,
Lecturer,
Environment Dept,
University of York,
York YO10 5DD, UK
Tel: (44) 01904 322997
Twitter: @KateArnold14