Dr B Williamson, Dr L Kregting
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Top predators such as seabirds and marine mammals target tidal stream sites for foraging opportunities. High flow speeds, upwelling or shear may enhance prey availability and foraging efficiency. Regulators need information on animal distribution to understand interactions with tidal energy developments, to inform licensing and management. Potential impacts include blade-strike, displacement from preferred habitat, habitat-modification, or changes to the predictability and availability of prey. Existing survey techniques use costly (so infrequent) vessel or aeroplane surveys which limit understanding of seasonal trends. Shore-based vantage point surveys suffer from reduced detectability of animals with increasing distance from the observer.
The aim of this interdisciplinary PhD is to develop and demonstrate the viability of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a cost-effective technique to investigate more precisely how visible top predators interact with tidal energy sites and technologies. This will be done by collecting concurrent imaging of surface hydrodynamic characteristics as a potential classifier of habitat-type and animals targeting these sites. The research will combine both field surveys and data analysis.
The project will build on proof-of-concept surveys carried out at the MeyGen site (Pentland Firth, Scotland) with opportunities for further data collection at Strangford Lough (Northern Ireland) and other tidal stream energy sites. The project will: investigate different UAV imaging systems to best detect animals and surface hydrodynamic features; develop algorithms for automated detection and classification of both ecosystem service features and different species; validate UAV measurements against ground-truth measurements; investigate behavioural associations between foraging animals and hydrodynamic characteristics, and how these may be changed by tidal stream turbines.
This studentship will suit candidates with interests in quantitative ecology, image processing, data analysis, algorithm development, machine learning, coastal fluid dynamics and biophysical interactions.
Project collaborators include Marine Scotland Science, Wood Group (Clean Energy), Atlantis Resources Ltd, Scottish Natural Heritage.
For further details please see the overview here:
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffpages/uploads/s01bw3/EIMR_BWilliamson_UAV.pdf
Students must be domiciled in the Highlands and Islands region during the course of their study to be eligible for funding. Students are expected to be based full-time at The Environmental Research Institute (ERI) UHI.
The project is expected to start 1 October 2018.
Applicants must possess a minimum of an Honours degree at 2:1 and/or a Master’s Degree (or International equivalent) in a relevant subject.
To apply please complete the standard application form, attaching supporting documentation and send to: [Email Address Removed]
Informal project specific enquiries can be made to: [Email Address Removed]
Funding Notes
This project is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The studentship covers fees, plus a stipend at the RCUK level, for a total of 39 months (including writing-up).
Funding is available for students worldwide, however non UK/EU students will be liable for the difference between home/EU and international fees. Our current fees can be found here: https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/studying-at-uhi/first-steps/how-much-will-it-cost/research-postgraduate-tuition-fees/
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