Eilidh McNab

PhD Student

e.m.mcnab1@stir.ac.uk / @emcn86

Autobiography: I gained my MSc in Environmental Management from the University in 2010.  I then spent 18 months as a trainee with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and for the last four years I was an ecological consultant.  I had always wanted to come back and study for a PhD, so when the opportunity came up here at Stirling I grabbed it!

Research interests: My research focuses on new native woodlands in upland Scotland; both broadleaved and mixed woodlands in the Trossachs, around Crianlarich, and in Perthshire.  Looking at a range of taxa, including birds, invertebrates, bats and plants, I hope to identify the impacts of woodland creation on both open moorland and woodland species.  Woodland creation and expansion is being encouraged by the Scottish Government, with a pledge to increase woodland cover by up to 15,000 hectares per year by 2024/25.  What potential impacts could this have on upland biodiversity?  For example, at what point in woodland establishment do we start to lose the classic open habitat species such as skylark and meadow pipit, and when do typical woodland species establish?

Publications
Jardine, D.C., McNab, E.M., Davison, M. and Holliday, S. (2009) Long-eared owls on Colonsay, Argyll. Scottish Birds 29(1): 16-21.