Melanie Baker

NERC ACCE PhD student

Research Interests

I am passionate about ecosystem restoration and protecting our native species, specifically when it is with the aim of rewilding an area to its natural condition.

During my PhD, I will be monitoring the ecological impacts of reintroduced beaver populations in Cheshire. In 2020 two beavers were released by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust into a 4.5 hectare enclosure just outside Hatchmere Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as part of a five-year trial. I will be quantifying the impacts of beavers on biodiversity, water chemistry and hydrology. If everything goes to plan, there will be further reintroductions within Cheshire. I aim to model the dispersal and population dynamics of these beaver groups to assess at the long-term sustainability of the Cheshire Beaver Project.

 

Education and Career

BSc (Hons), Zoology, University of Leeds (2016-2019)

MRes, Advanced Biological Sciences, Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2019-2020)

NERC ACCE DTP PhD Studentship, Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, University of Liverpool, in collaboration with the Cheshire Wildlife Trust (2021-2025). Supervisor: Prof Paula Stockley.

 

Publications

Cartledge, E.L., Baker, M., White, I., Powell, A., Gregory, B., Varley, M., Hurst, J.L. and Stockley, P., 2021. Applying remotely sensed habitat descriptors to assist reintroduction programs: A case study in the hazel dormouse. Conservation Science and Practice, 3(12), p.e544.

 

Back to: Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution