Pat White
pat white

Dr Pat White FCIEEM FHEA

Associate Professor

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).

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)

 

Date


33 results

Linking agri-environment scheme habitat area, predation and the abundance of chick invertebrate prey to the nesting success of a declining farmland bird

Journal Article
McHugh, N. M., White, P. J. C., Moreby, S., Szczur, J., Stoate, C., Leather, S. R., & Holland, J. M. (2022)
Linking agri-environment scheme habitat area, predation and the abundance of chick invertebrate prey to the nesting success of a declining farmland bird. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(2), Article e12155. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12155
1. Across Europe, farmland bird populations have continued to decline since the 1970s owing to the intensification of farming practices. Studies of such declines have tended t...

Multi-scale habitat selection and spatial analysis reveals a mismatch between the wintering distribution of a threatened population of Taiga Bean Geese Anser fabalis and its protected area

Journal Article
Thornton, M., Mitchell, C., Griffin, L., Briers, R., Minshull, B., Maciver, A., & White, P. (2022)
Multi-scale habitat selection and spatial analysis reveals a mismatch between the wintering distribution of a threatened population of Taiga Bean Geese Anser fabalis and its protected area. Bird Study, 68(2), 157-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2021.1966740
Capsule: Our multi-scale habitat selection and spatial analysis of a threatened population of Taiga Bean Geese Anser fabalis highlights the importance of monitoring and review...

Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA

Journal Article
Al-Ghafri, M. K., White, P. J. C., Briers, R. A., Dicks, K. L., Ball, A., Ghazali, M., 鈥enn, H. (2021)
Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA. Royal 麻豆社区 Open Science, 8(5), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210125
The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is patchily distributed across parts of Africa and Arabia. In Oman, it is one of the few free-ranging wild mammals found in the central and sou...

From theory to practice in pattern鈥恛riented modelling: identifying and using empirical patterns in predictive models

Journal Article
Gallagher, C. A., Chudzinska, M., Larsen鈥怗ray, A., Pollock, C. J., Sells, S. N., White, P. J. C., & Berger, U. (2021)
From theory to practice in pattern鈥恛riented modelling: identifying and using empirical patterns in predictive models. Biological Reviews, 96(5), 1868-1888. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12729
To robustly predict the effects of disturbance and ecosystem changes on species, it is necessary to produce structurally realistic models with high predictive power and flexib...

Component processes of detection probability in camera-trap studies: understanding the occurrence of false-negatives

Journal Article
Findlay, M. A., Briers, R. A., & White, P. J. C. (2020)
Component processes of detection probability in camera-trap studies: understanding the occurrence of false-negatives. Mammal Research, 65, 167-180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-020-00478-y
Camera-trap studies in the wild record true-positive data, but data loss from false-negatives (i.e. an animal is present but not recorded) is likely to vary and widely impact ...

Academia SIG Case Study: Increasing Research Impact through Academia

Other
White, P. (2020)
Academia SIG Case Study: Increasing Research Impact through Academia. [Blog]
Promoting the use of Research Evidence in Professional Practice and Academic-industry Links

Routes to achieving sustainable intensification in simulated dairy farms: The importance of production efficiency and complimentary land uses

Journal Article
White, P. J. C., Lee, M. A., Roberts, D. J., & Cole, L. J. (2019)
Routes to achieving sustainable intensification in simulated dairy farms: The importance of production efficiency and complimentary land uses. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56(5), 1128-1139. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13347
1. Sustainable intensification (SI) is a global challenge, aiming to increase food production whilst conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services. This is contrary to the ob...

Data from: Routes to achieving sustainable intensification in simulated dairy farms - the importance of production efficiency and complimentary land uses

Dataset
White, P., Lee, M., Roberts, D., & Cole, L. (2019)
Data from: Routes to achieving sustainable intensification in simulated dairy farms - the importance of production efficiency and complimentary land uses. [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2019.1497843
Data underpinning: White, P. J. C., Lee, M. A., Roberts, D. J., & Cole, L. J. (2019). Routes to achieving sustainable intensification in simulated dairy farms: The importance ...

Optimising camera trap data quality at mammal resting places.

Journal Article
Findlay, M. A., Briers, R. A., & White, P. J. C. (2018)
Optimising camera trap data quality at mammal resting places. In Practice, 24-28
A thorough understanding of how camera traps function is essential for ensuring correct set-up and quality of data. We illustrate the challenges through a case study of camera...

Data from: "Land-sharing via land-sparing: enhancing productivity and biodiversity on model dairy farms as a route to sustainable intensification"

Dataset
White, P., Lee, M., Roberts, D., & Cole, L. (2018)
Data from: "Land-sharing via land-sparing: enhancing productivity and biodiversity on model dairy farms as a route to sustainable intensification". [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.17869/ENU.2018.1141073
The dataset with identifier https://doi.org/10.17869/ENU.2018.1141073 was substituted by another version with the following citation: White, P., Lee, M., Roberts, D., & Cole, ...

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