Edinburgh Napier University

’Bots 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)

’Bots 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’s 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...

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...

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...

Optimisation of monitoring using camera-traps and field evidence when identifying Eurasian otter Lutra lutra resting or breeding sites

Thesis

Findlay, M. Optimisation of monitoring using camera-traps and field evidence when identifying Eurasian otter Lutra lutra resting or breeding sites. (Thesis)

Edinburgh Napier University. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2809424

The Eurasian otter Lutra lutra and its resting places are protected by EU and UK legislation. Consultant ecologists must identify resting sites so they can be protected during...

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 ...

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...

Developing an empirical approach to optimal camera-trap deployment at mammal resting sites: evidence from a longitudinal study of an otter Lutra lutra holt

Journal Article

Findlay, M., Briers, R., Diamond, N., & White, P. (2017)

Developing an empirical approach to optimal camera-trap deployment at mammal resting sites: evidence from a longitudinal study of an otter Lutra lutra holt. European journal of wildlife research, 63(6),

The study of nocturnal mammals relies on indirect evidence or invasive methods involving capture and tagging of individuals. Indirect methods are prone to error, while capture...