Hunting for Sustainability
We are involved in a number of projects exploring the ecological, social, cultural and economic values and impacts of hunting across Europe and Africa.

• Hunting for Sustainability. (EU FP7 funded). Contact Justin Irivine.
• A case study on integrated deer management - collaborative frameworks in land management. (RELU funded with J. Irvine et al.). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Developing methodologies for assessing diffuse deer impacts in the wider countryside (SEERAD funded with J. Irvine et al.). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Metapopulation dynamics of mountain hares (NERC-CASE funded. Student: Annabel Harrison.) Contact Simon Thirgood.
• Red grouse, parasites & territorial behaviour (NERC funded. PDRA Jesus Martinez. With Dan Haydon & Sasha Dall). Contact Steve Redpath.

• Rabbits, predation risk & myxomatosis (funded by Junta de communidades de Castilla La Mancha. With Villafuerte (UCLM)). Contact Steve Redpath.

Impact of climate change

Human induced climate change is the dominant threat to our environment. At ACES we are starting to explore some of the ways in which these changes will impact on our natural systems.

• Reduced snow lie and mountain ecosystem services (SFL. Sonja Wipf). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Anthropogenic influences on carbon dynamics in peatland (ACES. Student: Pauline Currey. With R. Artz et al.) Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Migration decisions in a changing world - mechanisms and consequences. (NERC - CEH. Student: Alexandra Komissarova. With J. Travis). Contact Steve Redpath.
• Modelling the impact of climate change on migratory birds (UKPopNET. Student: Karen Mustin. With J. Travis et al. ). Contact Steve Redpath.
• Diagnosing the causes of Ring Ouzel declines in Britain (RSPB. Student: Innes Sim. With J. Reid). Contact Steve Redpath.

Invasive species

Non-native invasive plant species are regarded as major threat to biodiversity. Understanding why species turn invasive, when they are considered problematic and how to successfully manage those is becoming increasingly important.

• Dispersal dynamics, founder effects and drivers of range expansions in tree mallow (CEH funded with S. Cavers). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Inclusive biodiversity management on Craigleith island: implementation of tree mallow control (SNH). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Understanding public perceptions of non-native species: values and discourses (ACES funded with R. van der Wal, A. Fischer. Student: Sebastian Selge). Contact Rene van der Wal.

Predator management
The management of large predators in the natural environment continues to be a controversial and emotive subject. We explore a variety of issues around this subject.

• Hen harriers - prediction, impact & mitigation (UKPopNET funded, with Anderson (York) & Travis (Aberdeen)). Contact Steve Redpath.
• Rabbits, predators and the predator-pit hypothesis (funded by Spanish Government, in collaboration with Ferreras and Villafuerte (UCLM)). Contact Steve Redpath.
• Raptor community dynamics in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. (FZS/CI/WCS/TPF funded. Student: Anteneh Shemelis.) Contact Simon Thirgood.
• Ravens and upland waders (SNH funded, with Amar (RSPB). Contact Steve Redpath.

Grazing, biodiversity & carbon sequestration

Across the globe grazing pressure is a major driver of ecosystem change,deleteriously affecting vegetation and bird populations. We work on a variety of systems with a particular focus on developing a mechanistic understanding of how grazing affects our environment.

• Studies of the Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management  (Macaulay Development Trust & Chinese Academy of Sciences with Ruijun Long). Contact Simon Thirgood.
• GRUB Grazing, voles and predation - consequences of land use change in the uplands (MDT funded. Student: Nacho Villar. With Lambin et al.) Contact Steve Redpath.  
• Ecosystem engineers of the tundra? The effects of pink footed geese on arctic ecosystem biodiversity (NERC funded. Student: James Speed; NERC with S. Woodin et al. ). Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Modelling moorland biodiversity (MDT funded. Student: Douglas Kerlin; With Haydon & Millar). Contact Simon Thirgood.
• Assessing the potential for recovery of degraded montane heathlands (SNH funded Student: Heather Armitage. With A. Britton et al.) Contact Rene van der Wal.
• Grazing, climate, and breeding success in upland birds (MDT funded. Student: Gina Prior. With Monaghan et al.) Contact Steve Redpath.  

Scaling in interdisciplinary research

Scaling is an important part of the problem solving process for many disciplines; ecologists, biogeochemists, sociologists and economists all deal with scale-dependent issues. We explore scaling issues and test and develop scaling approaches in a variety of systems.

• An integrated analysis of scale effects in alternative agricultural systems (RELU funded with S.Stagl et al.). Contact Ben Davies.
• Scaling in interdisciplinary upland research: from plots to catchments to regions (UKPopNET funded. PDRA: Steve Palmer. With Travis & Dytham). Contact Steve Redpath.  
• Development of coupled socio-ecological models: linking FEARLUS and SPOM (SEERAD with G. Polhill et al.).  Contact Ben Davies.

Water institutional reforms

Reforming the water sector has become one of the main challenges of contemporary environmental legislation and institutional changes. These set of projects focus on the interrelation between socionatural demands, scientific and regulatory responses, and political sensitivities.

• Integrated farm to catchment governance (DEFRA funded and IGER organized, in partnership with N. Watson and R. Fish). Contact Antonio Ioris.
• Water politics and regulatory reforms in Lima, Peru (Leverhulme Research Fellowship). Contact Antonio Ioris.
• The introduction of bulk water charges in the Douro River, Portugal (Royal Society of Edinburgh & Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland funded). Contact Antonio Ioris

• The perception of water value in peripheral neighbourhoods of the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (funded by the Brazilian Research Council - CNPq, in partnership with Henri Acselrad). Contact Antonio Ioris.

• Sustainable management of water in the Pantanal, South American wetland (funded by The Leverhulme Trust). READ MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND ITS ACTIVITIES IN BRAZIL AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. International research network. Contact Antonio Ioris.

Pollutant management

The effective management of pollutants is a major environmental challenge.We work on a variety of projects, developing new analytical methods, involving the use of stable enriched isotopes both for the improvement of the analytical process or the use of isotopic fingerprints of elements and element species.

• The speciation of mercury biomolecules in biota, to determine mercury uptake and biotransformation in plants. We also explore mercury-biomolecule interactions in rice (Oryza sativa), which may be a key factor to explain mercury bioaccumulation patterns in environment and biota.
• Biovolatilisation of metals, e.g. from paddy fields or in landfill sites.
• The determination of trace pollutants in natural gas and gas products, in collaboration with the oil and gas industry.

Contact Eva Krupp.