I graduated from University College Cork with a BSc in Zoology in 2011 and from the University of Exeter (UK) with an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity in 2017. My PhD research at University College Cork (2018-2022) focused on the Irish hare population at Dublin Airport and utilised ecological survey methods to identify periods of increased strike risk (wildlife-aircraft collision) and to inform the implementation of airside management practices.
Currently, I am a postdoc researcher in Allan McDevitt’s lab at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), where I am working on the ‘GREENBAT’ project. This project funded by the SEAI and NPWS is using a genomics based approach, along with Stable Isotope Analysis, to identify if our Irish bat species are migrating in and out of Ireland and what this may mean for offshore windfarm development. Previously at ATU I was working on the use of non-invasive genetic techniques for surveying badger populations in Ireland, to inform ongoing TB vaccination programs with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
I am particularly interested in the application of ecological approaches in wildlife management and human-wildlife conflict mediation, in addition to the areas of mammalogy and wildlife disease. While my research has predominantly focused on mammals, I have broad research interests having also worked in the areas of marine & terrestrial conservation, parasitology and with bee viruses.
For more detailed information on the research team, see the lab group’s website: https://sites.google.com/view/mcdevittlab/home
