Overview
Biodiversity is threatened by habitat degradation and fragmentation, which hampers the ability of species to successfully shift their ranges in response to climate change. Increasingly, as the world aims for ‘nature recovery’, habitat will be restored, but where should restoration be targeted to provide the greatest benefit to biodiversity?
About this opportunity
The Condatis model can identify locations to make habitat networks better connected and more climate-resilient, but there is a risk that networks based on habitat maps alone will not serve all the species that need to use them. Alongside connectivity, we must also plan for large populations, that are resistant to extinction. This project will develop novel plans to conserve hundreds of species as the climate changes, then, importantly, test whether simplifications are possible to make future prioritisation more feasible and generalisable for practitioners. The results will contribute to an influential debate in conservation: the extent to which we need to consider species individually, or whether we can generalise by analysing a set of conditions that will allow them to survive. The candidate will use butterflies and larger moths in Great Britain as a model system for the habitat network plans, in collaboration with Butterfly Conservation and Natural England.
Objectives
- Develop fine-scale, mapped proposals for climate-resilient habitat networks for Lepidoptera species, using detailed range and trait data. The networks must provide both habitat aggregations for stable populations and long-distance connectivity
- Test what best explains synergies and conflicts between the ideal spatial plans for different species (e.g. overlap in habitat use, overlap in climate envelope or similarity of dispersal)
- Evaluate the diminishing-returns of analysing more species and habitat types, in order to provide guidance on “when to stop” in future analyses.
- Contribute to guidance for conservation practitioners on extending the analyses to taxonomic groups other than Lepidoptera.
This project is led by Dr Jenny Hodgson at the University of Liverpool, who developed the Condatis decision support model for better connecting habitat networks. The Hodgson group investigates how the spatial configuration of landscapes can affect biodiversity, using a combination of field studies, citizen science data and modelling. The co-supervisors are Dr Lisbeth Hordley from Butterfly Conservation, Drs Ben Payne and Simon Duffield from Natural England, Dr HyeJin Kim from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and Dr Raj Whitlock from the University of Liverpool. Objective 1 builds on a pilot project in 2024 by Butterfly Conservation, which developed useful R code for the student.
This is a primarily desk-based project utilizing national datasets on habitats, Lepidoptera and their traits, and climate change. The student will gain skills in quantitative, spatial ecology that are vital to solve both conceptual and applied conservation biology questions around the world, and highly transferrable.
The project will have both short-term and long-term implications for deciding where nature recovery efforts are targeted to provide biodiversity resilience in the face of climate change. The supervisors – who are all experienced in the translation of scientific outputs into conservation policy and action – will help the student to make the most of opportunities for impact. The project will include one or two career-relevant placements.
To thrive in this PhD, you will need some core background knowledge in ecology and conservation science. You will also need skills in Geographic Information Systems and an aptitude for quantitative analysis. Scripting and programming skills are desirable, but further Masters-level training is available, alongside bespoke training from the supervisory team.
Project CASE Status
This project is not a CASE project. While individual applicant quality is our overriding criterion for selection, the ACCE DTP has a commitment for 40% of all studentships to be CASE funded – as such, CASE projects may be favoured in shortlisting applicants when candidates are otherwise deemed to be equal or a consensus on student quality cannot be reached. This will only be undertaken as a last resort for separating candidates following interview.