I took my BSc Environmental Biology at Swansea University and have an MSc in Applied Entomology and a PhD in Ecology from Imperial College and London University, and was recently awarded a Postgraduate certificate in Academic Practice from Hope. My research and academic expertise are in ecology and applied ecology. My work as a research biologist has led me to some interesting places and I have lived and worked in Lesotho, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. I have also worked in public engagement, science communication and outreach, and more recently career development for research staff. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to study a variety of interesting animals, plants and habitats. These include insect and mite pests of stored grains, biological control agents, ant biology, desert fauna and flora, and the ecology and conservation biology of African birds. I am particularly interested in the ecology of deserts and high altitude environments. I gained a NERC early career award which allowed me to study the use of chemical and biological tracers for remote tracking of animal dispersal, using insects as a model. For example, the application of stable isotopes and elemental profiling of biological materials to determine their place of origin. I recently gave a presentation on this at ISOECOL8 and am pursing a new area of research based upon reconstruction of historic diets in large herbivores and the Cape leopard using stable isotopes, in collaboration with Dr Frans Radloff in Cape Town, and UK and EU museums. My teaching focuses on ecology and applied ecology, with ample opportunities to incorporate examples from my own research area. My ResearchGate and LinkedIn entries have further details of my publications and areas of expertise, including links to PDF copies of some publications.
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