Patrick White
Patrick White

Dr Patrick White FCIEEM 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.

I have carried out applied research for a range of avian and mammalian taxa including passerines, grouse, geese, waders, 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 approaches for ecological monitoring.

In 2023 I was appointed Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (FCIEEM). 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 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 Life Sciences Subject Group Management Team. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and an External Examiner at University of Lincoln.

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).

Please contact me if you are interested in doing a PhD project within my lab.

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Invited judge: CIEEM Member of the Year Award
  • Invited working group member: Curlew Recovery Partnership England, Forestry Working Group
  • School leadership: Member of the Life Sciences Subject Group Management Team at Edinburgh Napier University
  • Invited as panel member to review CIEEM Competency Framework with a focus on academic members
  • 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"
  • Committee leadership: Deputy Research Degrees Lead, School of Applied Sciences (including attending University Research Degrees Committee)
  • Attended University Research Degrees Committee, deputizing for Research Degrees Lead
  • 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 to Forestry Commission Scotland's Woodland Expansion Group Stakeholder Meeting due to expertise on black grouse and forestry
  • 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 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: 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’ Union ‘Avian demography in a changing world’ (University of Leicester, England) on agroecology research
  • Invited speaker at The Wildlife Information Centre Autumn Conference ‘Why biological recording matters’ (Vogrie Country Park, Scotland) on my programme of 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 Society for Conservation Biology ‘3rd European Congress of Conservation Biologists’ (Glasgow, Scotland) 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
  • Professional membership: Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management (post-nominals MCIEEM 2013-2023 and FCIEEM 2023 onwards)

 

Reviewing

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

 

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Date


30 results

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 ...

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, ...

Data from: Sustainable intensification of a dairy farming system

Dataset
White, P., Lee, M., Roberts, D., & Cole, L. (2018)
Data from: Sustainable intensification of a dairy farming system. [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.17869/ENU.2018.1122039
The dataset with identifier https://doi.org/10.17869/ENU.2018.1122039 was substituted by another version with the following citation: White, P., Lee, M., Roberts, D., & Cole, ...

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...

Changes of bat species composition over altitudinal gradients on northern and southern aspects of the Soutpansberg mountain range, South Africa.

Journal Article
Weier, S. M., Linden, V. M., Gaigher, I., White, P. J., & Taylor, P. J. (2017)
Changes of bat species composition over altitudinal gradients on northern and southern aspects of the Soutpansberg mountain range, South Africa. Mammalia, 81(1), https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2015-0055
In order to gain insight into the pattern of bat species composition over altitude and the environmental variables driving the observed pattern, we compared data from moist so...

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