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Name: Dr Elizabeth Pimley
Organisation: Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy (part of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust)
Role: Senior Ecologist
Nationality and main countries worked: British; worked in UK and West Africa
Why is monitoring of protected species important in applied ecology?
Monitoring distribution and abundance of species provides a baseline figure which we can compare on an annual basis to examine whether populations are declining, increasing or remaining stable in their number and distribution. In the UK, a variety of protected species are monitored by national schemes. Such schemes include the People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ (PTES) dormouse monitoring scheme, which enables the population trends to be assessed on an annual basis through dormouse box monitoring schemes across the country, thereby enabling the success of dormouse mitigation to be assessed. Similarly, the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) manages a national bat monitoring scheme, which takes information collected from roost counts and bat activity surveys to enable the population trends of our 17 bat species to be assessed, while the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) run a national monitoring scheme for monitoring British birds with each species being assigned to green/amber/red list depending on how endangered the population is assessed to be.
Building upon national schemes, the monitoring of protected species in specific locations is also becoming increasingly common, especially on nature reserves or when there are changes in land use such as new developments. Such monitoring enables ecologists to assess whether species-specific management interventions or mitigation recommendations are effective. For example, for bats, mitigation for the destruction of a roost site generally involves recommending timing the works when the bats will be roosting elsewhere (as they have summer and winter roosts) and creating an artificial roosting feature, either a bat house/loft or bat boxes depending on the species. Through monitoring if these features are re-used by bats following their installation, future mitigation can be modified accordingly. In some cases, monitoring is an essential part of translocation assessment. For example, if sites with large numbers of reptiles are to be disturbed or destroyed, it is not always possible to retain sufficient suitable habitat on site. In such cases, individuals might need to be translocated to nearby areas of suitable habitat, and it is essential the population is monitored following translocation to determine the success (or otherwise) of the strategy.
What is your day-to-day job?
I work as Senior Ecologist for Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy, part of the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. About 70% of my job involves undertaking a variety of ecological surveys (for both habitats and protected species) and preparing a range of ecological reports, including preliminary ecological appraisals, specific protected species survey reports, Ecological Impact Assessments, and BREEAM/Code for Sustainable Homes reports. The other part of my job involves project management, production of quotations for future work and client liaison. This last involves ensuring that clients are aware of any ecological constraints and helping clients find a way that a given project can proceed in an ecologically-sound, and legally-acceptable, manner.
What is your most interesting recent project and why?
I have undertaken a variety of projects that were particularly interesting. One such project was a water vole monitoring survey of the Battlefield Brook in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, for the Environment Agency (EA). This involved the need to assess the impact of EA work to maintain flows within the catchment on water vole using comparing survey information collected over several years. It was enjoyable to walk the whole section of brook looking for signs of water vole and noting how the brook habitat changed along its course. It was also rewarding to have the opportunity to use the survey information to advise the EA on how to manage the brook in the future for water voles.
Another interesting project involved setting up a dormouse monitoring programme for a woodland managed by The Herefordshire Wildlife Trust. The survey information was used to provide recommendations for future management of the woodland to benefit the local dormouse population and other woodland fauna. The data collected were submitted to PTES’s National Dormouse Monitoring Programme and will also provide a baseline for a longer-term dormouse monitoring programme of the woodland.
What are the most satisfying parts of your job?
I enjoy being able to spend a reasonable amount of my time getting out and about undertaking a variety of ecological surveys, as well as having the opportunity to learn more about our native flora and fauna as part of my daily work. I also like working for a Wildlife Trust and thereby being part of “the bigger picture” for conservation nationally. It is also rewarding to know that any profits made through the consultancy feed directly back into conservation work within the Worcestershire.
What do you see as the main challenges in your field and how can they be overcome?
One of the main challenges in the area of ecological consultancy concerns the fact that during times of economic downturn, ecology tends to be one of the first things to fall by the wayside, as developers, local governments and so on look to maximise profits and minimise ‘unnecessary expenditure’. While all ecological consultants in the UK should follow a code of professional conduct set out by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), this does not always happen with some consultants being more ‘developer friendly’ than others, which is to the detriment of our wildlife and natural habitats. To avoid this happening the industry needs to be more effectively monitored by local planning authorities and CIEEM.
What’s next for you, and why?
I have been involved in a few mammal projects both in the UK (on Bechstein’s bat) and abroad (on nocturnal primates) and am hoping to find some time to analyse the data and get some of these projects written up in peer reviewed journals. It is so important that such information gets out there into the public domain rather than just remaining on a dusty shelf in a naturalist/ecologist’s notebook.
Finally, how did you get into species monitoring and what advice would to others?
I did a degree in Zoology at University of Bristol and really wanted to do my own research following this, which led to a PhD in Zoology at University of Cambridge, where I studied the behaviour and ecology of nocturnal primates in Cameroon. I then worked for the Animal and Plant Health Agency, studying the ecology and ranging behaviour of badgers to assess the impacts of culling badgers on TB spread in badgers and cattle. I gained considerable experience during this period in ecological survey techniques and analytical methods, which gave me an appropriate background to move into ecological consultancy, firstly with Cresswell Associates/Hyder Consulting and lately with Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy.