Pat White
pat white

Dr Pat White FCIEEM FHEA

Associate Professor

 0131 455 2509

  P.White@napier.ac.uk

  

Biography

I am an Associate Professor of Applied Ecology in the School of Applied Sciences and Centre for Conservation and Restoration Science. I joined 麻豆社区 as a Lecturer in Environmental Biology in 2013.

I was previously a postdoctoral research scientist in Upland Research Group at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT; 2010-2013) and did my PhD at the Centre for Agri-environmental Research, University of Reading, in conjunction with the GWCT Allerton Project (2005-2009). I have a BSc in Ecological Sciences from the University of Edinburgh (2001-2005). I was inspired to pursue ecological research during summer field/lab-based research assistant posts I did at University of Glasgow (2005) and BBSRC Rothamsted Research's Insect Survey (2003, 2004).

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Invited judge: CIEEM Member of the Year Award
  • School leadership: Member of the Life Sciences Subject Group Management Team at 麻豆社区
  • Invited as panel member to review CIEEM Competency Framework with a focus on academic members
  • Invited working group member: Curlew Recovery Partnership England, Forestry Working Group
  • Invited referee for a People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) Conservation Insights Grant application
  • Organized/ran a workshop of professional ecologists on "Robots in Ecology"
  • Attended University Research Degrees Committee, deputizing for Research Degrees Lead
  • Committee leadership: Deputy Research Degrees Lead, School of Applied Sciences (including attending University Research Degrees Committee)
  • Invited committee member: CIEEM Training, Education and Career Development Committee
  • Elected committee member: CIEEM Academia Special Interest Group Committee
  • Invited expert to Bean Goose Action Group Steering Committee on bean goose research
  • Elected member of CIEEM Scottish Members' Section Committee
  • Invited expert to Black Grouse Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Committee on black grouse research
  • Invited to Forestry Commission Scotland's Woodland Expansion Group Stakeholder Meeting due to expertise on black grouse and forestry

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Conference Organizing Committee - CIEEM Spring Conference 2021 (鈥淟ong -term Ecological Research Projects: Using Evidence to Inform Practice")
  • Conference Organizing Committee - CIEEM Autumn Conference 2018 (鈥淎dvances in Ecological Restoration and Habitat Creation鈥)
  • Session chair and organizing committee: CIEEM Scottish Conference 2018 ("Wildlife Tourism in Scotland")

 

Editorial Activity

  • Member of Editorial Board for In Practice (Bulletin of the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management)

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External examiner, University of Greenwich (MSc Environmental Conservation)

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Fellowship (appointed by Governing Board): Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management (post-nominals FCIEEM)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (post-nominals FHEA)
  • Edinburgh Napier Students' Association Excellence Award - Best Tutor (Applied Sciences)

 

Grant Reviewer

  • Invited grant reviewer: NERC SUPER DTP proposals

 

Invited Speaker

  • Invited speaker: CIEEM 2025 Webinar Series (on drone research)
  • Invited speaker: Forestry & Land Scotland South Region Staff CPD series (on otter research)
  • Invited speaker at Scottish Ringers' Conference 2019 on black grouse research
  • Invited speaker at Scottish Natural Heritage Lunchtime Seminar Series on agroecology research
  • Conference presentation: Marine Alliance for Science & Technology's 'Annual Science Meeting' (co-author)
  • Conference presentation: CIEEM 'Autumn Conference, Mitigation Monitoring and Effectiveness' (co-author)
  • Invited speaker at Perthshire Black Grouse Study Group Annual Meeting on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at British Ornithologists鈥 Union 鈥楢vian demography in a changing world鈥 (University of Leicester, England) on agroecology research
  • Invited speaker at The Wildlife Information Centre Autumn Conference 鈥榃hy biological recording matters鈥 (Vogrie Country Park, Scotland) on my programme of research
  • Invited speaker at Moorland Forum/GWCT 鈥楾hinking CAP 鈥 Upland Research and Management鈥 (Perth, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at University of Uppsala 鈥6th International Black Grouse Conference鈥 聽(University of Uppsala, Sweden) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at 麻豆社区 for Conservation Biology 鈥3rd European Congress of Conservation Biologists鈥 (Glasgow, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at Forestry Commission 鈥楩uture of Scotland鈥檚 Woodland Grouse鈥 (Dunkeld, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at Oxford University鈥檚 Edward Grey Institute 鈥楽tudent Conference鈥 (University of Groningen, Netherlands) on agroecology research

 

Media Activity

  • Featured on front page of The Herald newspaper about agroecology research
  • Featured on BBC television鈥檚 鈥楲andward鈥 to discuss black grouse research
  • Featured on BBC radio鈥檚 鈥極ut of Doors鈥 to discuss black grouse research
  • Featured in Shooting Times magazine to discuss black grouse research

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Member - IUCN Grouse Specialist Group
  • Member - IUCN Otter Specialist Group
  • Professional membership: Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management (post-nominals MCIEEM 2013-2023 and FCIEEM 2023 onwards)

 

Reviewing

  • Invited to review: Ecology & Evolution (Wiley) journal
  • Reviewer: Aquatic Ecology (Springer) journal
  • Invited to review: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (Springer) journal
  • Reviewer: Ibis (Wiley) journal
  • Reviewer: Ecological Solutions & Evidence (Wiley) journal
  • Reviewer - Ecosphere (Wiley)
  • Invited to review - Ecology & Evolution (Wiley)
  • Reviewer - Movement Ecology (Springer)
  • Reviewer - Journal of Wildlife Management (Wiley)
  • Reviewer - European Journal of Wildlife Research (Springer)
  • Reviewer - Heliyon (Elsevier)
  • Reviewer - Ibis (British Ornithologists' Union)
  • Reviewer - Ibis (British Ornithologists' Union)
  • Reviewer- Ecological Modelling (Elsevier)
  • Reviewer-Journal of Applied Ecology (Wiley)

 

Filter by

Date


33 results

鈥橞ots on the Ground vs Boots on the Ground: The Future of Robots in Terrestrial Ecological Surveying

Journal Article
White, P., Le Goff, L., Emery, L., Abrahams, C., Findlay, M., Cook, J., Macleod, K., Deacon, L., Reason, P., Stanhope, K., Wale, M., Hart, E., & Diele, K. (2025)
鈥橞ots on the Ground vs Boots on the Ground: The Future of Robots in Terrestrial Ecological Surveying. In Practice (CIEEM), 27, 47-52
At the 2023 CIEEM Modernising Ecology conference, a robot greeted the attendees as they arrived. Was it a glimpse into the future? As with other technologies, robots have the ...

Relative Performance and Practicality of Night Vision Aids and Naked Eye Counts for Emerging Bats

Journal Article
Mitchell, L., Findlay, M., Ingledew, R., & White, P. (2025)
Relative Performance and Practicality of Night Vision Aids and Naked Eye Counts for Emerging Bats. In Practice (CIEEM), 127, 41-46
The Bat Conservation Trust鈥檚 Good Practice Guidelines now require the use of night vision aids for bat emergence surveys. In light of this, we compared the efficacy and effici...

Bespoke design of cage trap and patagial wing tag for the capture and study of black grouse Lyrurus tetrix at lek sites: assessment of effectiveness for future studies

Journal Article
Waltona, C., Ripodas Melero, A. I., & White, P. J. C. (2024)
Bespoke design of cage trap and patagial wing tag for the capture and study of black grouse Lyrurus tetrix at lek sites: assessment of effectiveness for future studies. Ringing and Migration, 39(1-2), 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/03078698.2025.2465845
Given new avenues for Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix telemetry, and translocations to previously occupied areas, we designed a new cage trap for use at leks that was safe, reliab...

A literary deep dive: Assessing the reporting rates of cetacean availability bias for estimating abundance from digital aerial surveys

Presentation / Conference

Do UK survey licenses for otter support best practice?

Journal Article
White, P., & Findlay, M. (2024)
Do UK survey licenses for otter support best practice?. In Practice, 48-52
Under the Habitats Regulations, resting/breeding places of otters (Lutra lutra) are protected from damage and disturbance, and ecologists are expected to identify such structu...

The impacts of forestry on breeding curlew distribution 鈥 a report to the Forestry Commission

Report
McGrory, R., Briers, R., Findlay, M., & White, P. (2024)
The impacts of forestry on breeding curlew distribution 鈥 a report to the Forestry Commission. Forestry Commission
We were commissioned by Forestry Commission (FC) to utilise the large-scale Breeding Waders of English Upland Farmland (BWEUF) data and the wider literature to provide evidenc...

Optimisation of Open-habitat Bird Surveys 鈥 a report to the Forestry Commission

Report
Borthwick, M., Findlay, M., Briers, R., & White, P. (2024)
Optimisation of Open-habitat Bird Surveys 鈥 a report to the Forestry Commission. Forestry Commission
In the process of offering financial grants to landowners seeking to create new areas of woodland in England, the Forestry Commission (FC) requires surveying of proposed woodl...

Choice of model and re鈥恘esting probability function influences behaviour of avian seasonal productivity models and their demographic predictions

Journal Article
White, P. J. C., Stoate, C., Aebisher, N. J., Szczur, J., Ferrer, L., & Norris, K. (2024)
Choice of model and re鈥恘esting probability function influences behaviour of avian seasonal productivity models and their demographic predictions. Ibis, 166(2), 455-471. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13267
Measuring seasonal productivity is difficult in multi鈥恇rooded species without labour鈥恑ntensive ringing studies. Individual鈥恇ased (IB) models have been used to estimate seasona...

An evidence-based approach to identifying resting sites of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) from camera-trap and field-sign data

Journal Article
Findlay, M. A., Briers, R. A., Ingledew, R. P., & James Ciaran White, P. (2023)
An evidence-based approach to identifying resting sites of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) from camera-trap and field-sign data. Wildlife Biology, 2023(1), Article e01036. https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01036
Mammals' resting sites (dens) are important features of their ecology. Eurasian otter Lutra lutra resting sites are strictly protected by UK and European legislation and are o...

Habitat selection of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) in the peri-coastal, urbanised landscape of Goa, India

Journal Article
Dias, S. J., White, P. J. C., Sinai Borker, A., & Vaz Fernandes, N. (2022)
Habitat selection of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) in the peri-coastal, urbanised landscape of Goa, India. Mammal Research, 67(3), 299-309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-022-00639-1
Human development can have detrimental impacts on the environment and its contained ecosystems. However, several species have adapted to thrive in human-modified landscapes. T...

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects

Non-Napier PhD or MSc by Research supervisions

  • Formal mentor for a SUPER DTP PhD student based at University of Stirling
  • PhD supervisor on a SUPER DTP studentship based at University of Aberdeen