Kate R Searle
Ecological Modeller
Ecology
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (Institute of Freshwater Ecology)
United Kingdom
Biography
2010 to date: Ecological modeller at CEH, Edinburgh. 2007-2009: Post-doctoral research (Natural Resource and Ecology Lab, Colorado State University). Research into the effects of fragmentation on consumer-resource dynamics in environments varying in space and time. Also, collaborative research with Colorado Division of Wildlife using remote-sensing to predict diet quality and body condition of mule deer in western Colorado in response to temporal and spatial variation in plant phenology and climate. Also worked with USGS Ecosystem Dynamics Group to develop a hierarchical Bayesian analysis of the population dynamics of the San Luis Valley bison herd. 2005-2007: Post-doctoral research at CSIRO, Sustainable Ecosystems Division. Conducted research on the impact of cattle grazing on spatial patterns of vegetation and soil components in grazed semi-arid rangelands, with implications for ecosystem function and integrity. Additional research on the influence of variation in predation risk and food resources on the foraging behaviour of small mammals. 2000-2004: PhD (Colorado State University, National Science Foundation funding) on the role of spatial heterogeneity in foraging decisions of large herbivores.
Research Interest
Research focuses on the effects of environmental change on wildlife behaviour, populations and distributions. By combining contemporary ecological techniques with an understanding of resource-consumer dynamics in heterogeneous environments
Publications
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Searle, K. R., Simon Carpenter, Adam Butler, Anthony Wilson, James Barber, Francesca Stubbins, Eric Denison, Christopher Sanders, Philip Mellor, Noel Nelson, Simon Gubbins, & Bethan V. Purse. 2014. Drivers of Culicoidesphenology: how important is species-specific variation in determining disease policy? PLOS One, November 11, 2014.
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Searle, K.R., Butler, A., Mobbs, D., Bogdanova, M., Freeman, S., Wanless, S., Bolton, M., & Daunt, F. 2015. At-sea turnover of breeding seabirds (MSQ-0103). Report to Marine Science Scotland.
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Searle, K. R., C. Anderson, C. Bishop, N. T. Hobbs, M. B. Rice. Asynchronous vegetation phenology enhances winter body condition of Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Oecologia, in press.
