This project will investigate how landscape heterogeneity and habitat features influence bird abundance and diversity on farms in the Cotswolds and North Wessex Downs.
Department: Sustainable Land Management
Supervised by: Deepa Senapathi
Bird diversity and abundance is considered an indicator of ecosystem health as they utilise a large variety of food sources and habitats, and they can be sensitive to environmental change. However, despite agri-environment schemes, population declines in European farmland bird species have become a major conservation concern with declines of 55% recorded in the UK. Pressures such as agricultural intensification, changes in sowing times for cereals and the use of pesticides and herbicides, have contributed to such declines. In order to reverse these declines, it is important to understand how and why birds respond to different habitats, features and farming practices. The project will involve conducting timed bird surveys across farms in two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and comparing how habitat, features and farming practices influence the diversity and abundance of farmland birds across farms.
The student will spend half of their time conducting timed bird surveys across farms in the Cotswolds and North Wessex Downs to monitor bird diversity and abundance in farms. They will spend the rest of their time using GIS software to map different habitats and features on the farm and use this to understand how these influence bird diversity and abundance on the farms.
The student should have a background in agriculture, ecology, biology or another relevant discipline. The student should have an interest in birds and already have some identification skills, although some training can be provided. They would benefit from a basic understanding of GIS software such as ArcGIS or QGIS, although this is a skill that can be developed during the placement. They should have a good level of fitness so that they can comfortably carry out fieldwork. They should be able to work independently and have good attention to detail. They should be willing to travel to farms and stay overnight while doing fieldwork.
The student will hone their bird Identification skills in the field. They will develop their GIS skills by creating habitat maps and gain experience in data manipulation and experience of basic statistical analyses.
School of Agriculture, Policy, & Development (SAPD) and field sites in the Cotswolds and North Wessex Downs.
Flexible but likely to be 7am-3pm in the field, and 9-5 otherwise
Friday 14 July 2023 - Thursday 31 August 2023
The deadline to apply for this opportunity is Monday 3rd April 2023. Students should submit their CV and Cover Letter detailing their interest and suitability for the project, directly to the project supervisor via email (click on supervisor name at the top of the page for email). Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview.