Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N000331/1
Freshwater Bio-assessment and its Application in Catchment Management
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor N Willby, University of Stirling, Biological and Environmental Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Stirling, Biological and Environmental Sciences
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Community Ecology
- Pollution
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Water Quality
- Abstract:
- In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in our understanding of how freshwater biological communities respond to single and multiple pressures and the consequences of this for maintaining high quality water needed to deliver key ecosystem services such as water supply, recreation, tourism and biodiversity support. A multitude of bio-assessment methods and approaches have emerged over the past decade in response to legislative requirements, such as the Water Framework Directive, and the results from these assessments are now being used to shape large- scale management programmes to maintain and improve the quality of our freshwaters. It is essential that bio-assessment systems are robust and fit for purpose, i.e. that they can be applied to help diagnose the causes of deterioration, identify the most suitable management options and track recovery. Many systems have been developed in close collaboration with UK environment and conservation agencies with these specific aims in mind. There is a high demand to guide early career researchers through this very active and collaborative area of research and to train a new generation of environmental scientists in the skills required to develop robust quantitative ecological assessment schemes, interpret their outputs meaningfully and to understand how these outputs are used to guide the management of freshwater environments. This demands skills in quantitative field survey, sample analysis, statistical analysis of large ecological datasets, quantifying uncertainties in assessments and the evaluation and interpretation of a range of potential indicators of the state of freshwater ecosystems. Diagnosis and interpretation of multiple stressor contexts (e.g. droughts and nutrient pollution) is increasingly recognised as a priority for environmental science and this course will provide examples of how to approach this need using a suite of indicators. The course will also examine the application of indicators for interpreting the impacts on ecosystem services delivered by freshwaters. We will address these priority areas, through a Short Training Course, which will include work in the field at Loch Leven and its tributaries, as well as lectures and practical sessions (e.g. statistical analysis of ecological data, derivation of water body classifications and construction of novel working methods) to be held at Stirling. What Makes the Training Unique? Our topic is strongly industry and end-user orientated. The course structure has been shaped and will be delivered in close collaboration with key end-users who are themselves leaders in this field and with whom we have long-established working relationships. What will its impact be? The course targets the Priority Training Area "Evaluating and interpreting indicators of the state of the freshwater environment" under the "Freshwater Science" headline skills gap, but it also relates to several other skills gaps and priority training areas (field survey skills, freshwater taxonomy, quantifying risk and uncertainty, translating research into practice, understanding environmental legislation) named in the call or noted in the LWEC 2012 report (Postgraduate and professional skills needs in the environment sector). The course content is interdisciplinary (from community ecology to environmental policy and management) and the skills acquired will be readily transferable (e.g. field sampling, data analysis) thus enhancing employability of attendees
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N000331/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £22,480
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £22,480 |
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