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Natalie is currently an EnvEast NERC funded PhD student at the Durrell Institute for Conservation & Ecology, University of Kent.

For her thesis, she is investigating the use of acoustics in monitoring tropical vertebrate responses to land-use change in Borneo, under the supervision of Dr M. Struebig and Dr J. Bicknell, as part of the Leverhulme Tropical Defaunation Hub. The focus of this project is to use machine learning to automate bat monitoring in this region and to assess how palm oil and logging impact these species.

Prior to joining DICE, she undertook her Masters in Environmental Management at the University of Salford investigating the impacts of habitat fragmentation on bats in the Amazon. During her studies she has collaborated on projects investigating the effects of land-use change in Central & South America, as well as Asia, and Western Europe. She is also part of the editorial board for the Journal of Bat Research & Conservation and is a keen member of the Women in Conservation Canterbury Network. 

Links:

Twitter

ResearchGate

LinkedIn

Mairenn is part of the Spottiswoode group in Zoology at the University of Cambridge, researching evolution in avian brood parasites – birds that lay their eggs in the nests of other birds (https://www.africancuckoos.com/our-work/). She completed a Master’s degree with the same group last year, working on the interaction between fork-tailed drongos and African cuckoos in Zambia. Before this, Mairenn worked on various ecology projects, including the impact of parasitic plants on invasive Oxalis, the function of buccal oscillations in túngara frogs, and interactions between pollen beetles and rock roses. She was also an intern with the Insect Ecology group in Cambridge, examining invertebrate diversity across ancient and recently planted woodland. In her final year undergraduate project, she investigated behavioural responses to kleptoparasitism risk in sticklebacks, supervised by Professor Nick Davies. Across these diverse taxa, interactions between individuals and species emerged as a central research interest.

She currently works as a co-director of content at Climate Science (https://climatescience.org/), a charity empowering people to learn about solutions to the climate crisis. Alongside this, she supervises undergraduate students in conservation science and evolution.

DTP: ARIES

Profile: Ms Eleanor Sheppard | Aries (aries-dtp.ac.uk)

Coastal engineering postgraduate with five years’ experience in industry. Experienced in beach design, sediment budget analysis and coastal zone management. Have worked in both public and private sectors. Current project investigating nearshore sediment movement at Pevensey Bay, on the South East coast.

DTP: SPITFIRE

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DTP: ENVISION