Peter Dennis (ecologist)

Dr Peter Dennis
Born	1964 Devon, England
Nationality	British
Scientific career
Fields	Ecology, Entomology
Institutions	Institute of Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University

Dr Peter Dennis (born 1964) is a British Researcher and Lecturer. He specializes in Grassland Ecology and lectures in Grazing Ecology to undergraduate students attending Aberystwyth University.

His main research interests include:

• Ecology of grazed ecosystems (especially uplands and savannah)

• Insect-plant/habitat interactions in upland, grazed ecosystems

• Biodiversity and ecosystem function, especially moorland, forest and savannah ecosystems

• Land use, landscape ecology and the distribution of biodiversity

• Trophic interactions of grazing mammals within upland food webs

Career

Early life

Peter Dennis attended the University of Leeds between 1982 and 1985, attaining a BSc Hons. in Agricultural Zoology. He then went on to work for four years to complete his PhD in Farmland Ecology at the University of Southampton and at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge in 1989.

He was taken on as a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in the Agricultural University of Norway for a year, and in 1990 began work as a Higher Scientific Officer at the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC's) Institute of Terrestrial Ecology in Edinburgh (Now merged to form the NERC's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology). In 1993, he moved into the northeast of Scotland and started the beginning of a lengthy career as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist with the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (MLURI, now the Macaulay Institute) outside Aberdeen.

MLURI

At MLURI, Peter Dennis worked as a wildlife and landscape ecologist, specialising in grazing ecology and entomology. Through this post he acted as principal investigator/scientific co-ordinator for scientific research and development projects within the department, and was involved in the dissemination of research output via journals and international conferences. He was extensively involved with the recruitment, training and supervision of support staff and research students and acted as a consultant for external contracts, for example with Scottish Natural Heritage, English Nature, National Trust for Scotland and the RSPB.

One of his projects involved a substantial contribution to the strategic development of the MI Ecology of Grazed Ecosystems research programme.

He was also an institute representative on regional and national biodiversity committees and in 2002 became a Senior Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the institute. His recent major research activity with the institute included the scientific co-ordination of the then Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s Grazing and Upland Bird (GRUB) project. This research addressed the long-term ecological effects of changes in upland farming, with emphasis on factors affecting the breeding success of insectivorous birds.

During his time in the northeast of Scotland, Peter Dennis became an honorary lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, assisting in the teaching of the Plant-Animal Interactions course at the School of Biological Sciences within the university, and still remains at this post today.

Life today

Peter Dennis joined IBERS on 25 September 2006 as a Lecturer in Grazing Ecology at Aberystwyth University's Institute of Rural Sciences (now the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, or IBERS).

On his Aberystwyth University mini-site, he states:

"My enthusiasm for natural history is an over-arching interest that arises from spending so much time in wilder areas of land and water. I believe that such wild environments should be conserved for the habitats and species they support in addition to the tremendous human benefits that arise from the continued existence of such natural areas."

His teaching responsibilities include the supervision of PhD studentships and student personal tutorials, teaching undergraduate modules contributing to conservation and agriculture courses at degree and HND level, supervision of dissertation project students and the external examination of PhD and MSc students. He is also learning to play the mandolin and Northumbrian pipes.

Other responsibilities centre around his research role within the university, including research collaboration with the University of Wales and the NERC’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Bangor as part of the Welsh Assembly Government funded Research and Enterprise Partnership: the Centre for Integrated Research in the Rural Environment (CIRRE). He also sits on the editorial committee for scientific journals and academic book series', where he assists with university peer review and editorial duties for scientific publications and research proposals.

Research

Past research projects

After thirteen years of scientific research at the Macaulay Institute, Peter Dennis has completed several key research projects. Recent major research activities included the scientific co-ordination of the Grazing and Upland Bird (GRUB) project, and contributions to the local and national Biodiversity Action Plans. He also oversaw the biological monitoring of two of the UK Environmental Change Network sites situated in Scotland, culminating in his recent contribution to the EC ALTER-Net (A Long-term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network).

He has also been involved with research projects in South Africa and in forest ecology, he has worked on a number of government forest and woodland wildlife research projects. He has been involved in the Native Woodland Discussion Group, Forestry Research Co-ordination Committee and co-authored the Habitat Action Plan on Wet and Riparian Woodland for northeast Scotland.

Current research projects

Current research projects that Peter Dennis is leading or collaborating with to complete are as follows:

• BeBioBio: Indicators for biodiversity in organic and low-input farming systems (2009–2012)

• Remote sensing platform for validation and up-scaling models of ecological processes from experimental sites to geographic regions (2008–2009)

• Grip blocking effects on peatland moisture, carbon storage and invertebrates (2008–2011)

• Using systematic review methodology to establish an evidence base for implementation of the Environment Agency Wales Climate Change Strategy (2008–2010)

• Economic Valuation of the Benefits of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2007–2008)

• Long term impacts of environmental change on the soils and vegetation of Snowdon (2007–2010)

Selected recent research publications

• Dennis, P.; et al. (2008). The effects of livestock grazing on foliar arthropods associated with bird diet in upland grasslands of Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: pp. 279-287. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

• Bredemeier, M.; et al. (2007). Biodiversity assessment and change – the challenge of appropriate methods. In: Hester, R.E. and Harrison, R.M. (Editors) Biodiversity under Threat. Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 25. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge: pp. 217-251. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

• Evans, D.M.; et al. (2006). Low intensity, mixed livestock grazing improves the breeding abundance of a common insectivorous passerine. Biology Letters 2 (4): pp. 636-638. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

• Littlewood, N.A.; et al. (2006). Moorland restoration aids the reassembly of associated phytophagous insects. Biological Conservation, 132: pp. 395-404. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

See also

• Macaulay Institute
• Aberystwyth University

External links

• Dr. Peter Dennis' Homepage [1]
• Macaulay Institute, UK [2]
• IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK [3]
• British Ecological Society, UK [4]
• NE Scotland Local Biodiversity Partnership [5]
• Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation [6]
• ALTER-Net [7]