About the Project
Project Background
Across Amazonia, small scale gold mining is on the rise. Over the last decade, this has led to a sharp increase in localised deforestation. The impacts of mines on biodiversity are largely unknown, but since mining removes entire areas of vegetation and soils, impacts are likely to be marked. Vertebrates are ideal for studying the responses of biodiversity to mining because they are likely to play a vital role in the regeneration of these areas via seed dispersal and other functions.
Research Methodology
This PhD will undertake a comprehensive field survey in a landscape dominated by gold mines scattered throughout the tropical forests of central Guyana. Employing a paired, mine-forest study design, the study will seek to understand the relationship between biodiversity and different characteristics of existing mines (e.g. size, shape, age, and vegetation). Data will be collected on birds, mammals, and regenerating patches of vegetation, and will seek to understand the relationship between vertebrates and regeneration, and use this to conduct cutting-edge land-use planning across the landscape.
Training
This project is embedded in Conservation International (CI) Guyana’s Responsible Mining Initiative. The candidate will work closely with CI, and will have an opportunity to undertake an internship to assist CI in their mining impacts mitigation work, providing a wider perspective on the issues associated with gold mining. The candidate will receive training in transferable skills through the ARIES NERC Doctoral Training Partnership, and will also be trained in specific census techniques (bird point counts and mist netting, camera trapping, vegetation plots), as well as analytical skills (e.g. spatial analyses in ArcGIS/QGIS, and statistical modelling in R, community analysis using PC-ORD). Over the course of the PhD, the candidate will also gain academic skills, in particular writing papers, and presenting at conferences and engaging with government departments.
The Supervisor for this project is Dr Jake Bicknell, https://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology-conservation/people/982/bicknell-jake
How to apply
For applications for PhD Biodiversity Management at DICE: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/276/biodiversity-management
Candidates should apply using the online application form (https://form.jotform.com/203012924363042). The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 12th January 2021.
Interviews
There will be a two-stage interview process. The first round of interviews will take place on at the end of January 2021. Successful nominees will then participate in the second round of interviews, with the ARIES panel, on 17-18 February 2021.
References
1. Kalamandeen, M., Gloor, E., Mitchard, E., Quincey, D., Ziv, G., Spracklen, D., Spracklen, B., Adami, M., Aragão, L.E.O.C. & Galbraith, D. (2018) Pervasive Rise of Small-scale Deforestation in Amazonia. Scientific Reports, 8, 1600.
2. Bicknell, J.E., Collins, M.B., Pickles, R.S.A., McCann, N.P., Bernard, C.R., Fernandes, D.J., Miller, M.G.R., James, S.M., Williams, A.U., Struebig, M.J., Davies, Z.G. & Smith, R.J. (2017) Designing protected area networks that translate international conservation commitments into national action. Biological Conservation, 214, 168-175.
3. Pfeifer, M., Lefebvre, V., Peres, C.A., Banks-Leite, C., Wearn, O.R., Marsh, C.J., Butchart, S.H.M., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Barlow, J., Cerezo, A., Cisneros, L., D’Cruze, N., Faria, D., Hadley, A., Harris, S.M., Klingbeil, B.T., Kormann, U., Lens, L., Medina-Rangel, G.F., Morante-Filho, J.C., Olivier, P., Peters, S.L., Pidgeon, A., Ribeiro, D.B., Scherber, C., Schneider-Maunoury, L., Struebig, M., Urbina-Cardona, N., Watling, J.I., Willig, M.R., Wood, E.M. & Ewers, R.M. (2017) Creation of forest edges has a global impact on forest vertebrates. Nature, 551, 187.
4. Gardner, C.J., Bicknell, J.E., Baldwin-Cantello, W. Struebig M.J., Davies Z.G. (2019) Quantifying the impacts of defaunation on natural forest regeneration in a global meta-analysis. Nature Communications. 10, 4590.
5. Kalamandeen, M., Gloor, E., Johnson, I., Agard, S., Katow, M., Vanbrooke, A., Ashley, D., Batterman, S.A., Ziv, G., Holder‐Collins, K and Phillips, O.L., Limited biomass recovery from gold mining in Amazonian forests. Journal of Applied Ecology.
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