Patrick White
Patrick White

Dr Patrick White MCIEEM, FHEA

Associate Professor

 0131 455 2509

  P.White@napier.ac.uk

  

Biography

Within the Centre for Conservation & Restoration Science I do research that has practical applications for conservation of threatened species and for the wider profession of ecology and environmental management. I have a wide range of interests and I apply a variety of research techniques, including observational studies, experimental work and modelling.

As an avian ecologist, I have carried out applied research for a range of taxa including passerines, grouse, geese and waders. More recently I have also been involved in mammalian conservation and monitoring research, supervising PhD projects relating to otters, ibex and badgers. I am also interested in use of technologies for wildlife biology, developing evidence-based approaches for their use and inter-disciplinary partnerships to develop novel technologies for ecological monitoring.

I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), where I have served as an invited member of the Training, Education and Careers Development Committee and the Academia Special Interest Group Committee. I am also a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. I am on the Editorial Board for CIEEM’s quarterly publication ‘In Practice’ and a Subject Editor for the Wildlife Biology journal. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I am Programme Leader for Napier's CIEEM-accredited MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation where my teaching is led by my research, contributing to the areas of statistics and modelling, applied ecology, biodiversity monitoring and analysis, as well as field surveying techniques and technologies. I am the Deputy Research Degrees Lead for the School of Applied Sciences.

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 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
  • Deputy Research Degrees Lead, School of Applied Sciences
  • Elected member of CIEEM Training, Education and Career Development Committee
  • Elected member of 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

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Conference Organizing Committee - CIEEM Spring Conference 2021 (“Long -term Ecological Research Projects: Using Evidence to Inform Practice")
  • Conference Organizing Committee - CIEEM Autumn Conference 2018 (“Advances in Ecological Restoration and Habitat Creation”)
  • Session chair at CIEEM 2018 Scottish Conference ("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

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (post-nominals FHEA)
  • Edinburgh Napier Students' Association Excellence Award - Best Tutor (Applied Sciences)

 

Invited Speaker

  • Invited speaker at Scottish Ringers' Conference 2019 on black grouse research
  • Invited speaker at Scottish Natural Heritage Lunchtime Seminar Series on agroecology research
  • Invited speaker at Perthshire Black Grouse Study Group Annual Meeting on black grouse research
  • Invited speaker at The Wildlife Information Centre Autumn Conference ‘Why biological recording matters’ (Vogrie Country Park, Scotland) on my programme of research
  • Floor presentation at British Ornithologists’ Union ‘Avian demography in a changing world’ (University of Leicester, England) on agroecology research
  • Floor presentation at Society for Conservation Biology ‘3rd European Congress of Conservation Biologists’ (Glasgow, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Invited speaker at Moorland Forum/GWCT ‘Thinking CAP – Upland Research and Management’ (Perth, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at University of Uppsala ‘6th International Black Grouse Conference’  (University of Uppsala, Sweden) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at Forestry Commission ‘Future of Scotland’s Woodland Grouse’ (Dunkeld, Scotland) on black grouse research
  • Floor presentation at Oxford University’s Edward Grey Institute ‘Student Conference’ (University of Groningen, Netherlands) on agroecology research

 

Media Activity

  • Featured on front page of The Herald newspaper about agroecology research
  • Featured on BBC radio’s ‘Out of Doors’ to discuss black grouse research
  • Featured on BBC television’s ‘Landward’ 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
  • Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management (post-nominals MCIEEM)

 

Reviewing

  • Reviewer - Ecosphere (Wiley)
  • Invited to review - Ecology & Evolution (Wiley)
  • Reviewer - European Journal of Wildlife Research (Springer)
  • Reviewer - Heliyon (Elsevier)
  • Reviewer - Journal of Wildlife Management (Wiley)
  • Reviewer - Movement Ecology (Springer)
  • Reviewer - Ibis (British Ornithologists' Union)
  • Reviewer - Ibis (British Ornithologists' Union)
  • Reviewer- Ecological Modelling (Elsevier)
  • Reviewer-Journal of Applied Ecology (Wiley)

 

Filter by

Date


24 results

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...

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., …Senn, H. (2021)
Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA. Royal Society 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‐oriented modelling: identifying and using empirical patterns in predictive models

Journal Article
Gallagher, C. A., Chudzinska, M., Larsen‐Gray, A., Pollock, C. J., Sells, S. N., White, P. J. C., & Berger, U. (2021)
From theory to practice in pattern‐oriented 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 ...

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...

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