Print this pageDawn Scott & Richard Yarnell
Dr. Dawn Scott is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Brighton specializing in mammalian predator and prey ecology. She obtained her first degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Durham in 1995, focusing on animal ecology. She then went on to become mammal biodiversity coordinator for a Jordan-based Darwin Initiative project and in 2000 she completed her Ph.D. on aspects of the ecology of desert rodents in Jordan. After her Ph.D. she went on to become the biodiversity research co-coordinator for a project in Kafue National Park, Zambia. She also holds a post-graduate teaching qualification and is a member of the British Ecological Society and Biogeography Research Group, and is currently a council member of the Mammal Society. Dr. Scott has more than 10 years of experience in academic research with expertise in mammal ecology, biodiversity and behavior and has undertaken several field research projects investigating issues surrounding human-wildlife issues in Jordan, Chile, Zambia, South Africa, Indonesia and the UK. She has also been a visiting research fellow at the Zoological Society of London, where she was involved in a project investigating how endangered cat species can survive outside protected areas.
Dr. Richard Yarnell is currently a lecturer in biodiversity surveying at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. He completed his Ph.D on the effects of Game Ranch management on small mammal populations in collaboration with the University of Brighton and Mammal Research Institute, South Africa. He has spent over three years living and researching the impact of habitat management on mammal ecology in South Africa. He has a special interest in the conservation of carnivores and human-wildlife conflict. This interest arose while working for the UK government for two years while investigating badger and fox populations in relation to pest management. The interest in carnivores has continued while doing fieldwork for his PhD in South Africa and has started monitoring the brown hyaena populations in Northwest Province. Richards' first degree was in zoology at the University of Aberdeen. His second degree was a Masters degree in Ecology at the University of Wales, Bangor. In between these two years he spent a year working on a project that investigated cooperative breeding in meerkats in South Africa. Dr Yarnell's contact information appears below:
Dr Richard Yarnell MIEEM
Animal, Rural and Environment School
Nottingham Trent University
Brackenhurst,
Southwell,
Nottinghamshire,
NG25 0QF
Mobile:07884263579
Email: richard.yarnell@ntu.ac.uk
Project Phiri is based in the NorthWest Province of South Africa. The research started with pilot work in 2003/4 and is partly funded by The Earthwatch Institute. Dawn and Richard co-ordinate Project Phiri with in country support and collaboration from North West Parks Board, Mankwe Game Reserve, MRI - University of Pretoria and a wide range of landowners. http://www.earthwatch.org/exped/scott.html
The overall objectives of this Brown Hyena project are to:
1) Design a rapid assessment method for surveying brown hyenas by comparing and validating a range of different field survey methods used to determine presence (detection), abundance, and monitor population trends.
2) Assess and compare brown hyena presence, abundance, density, diet and habitat use within areas of different levels of protection and land use.
3) Determine brown hyena threats to livestock, both actual and those perceived by landowners, and assess the extent of hyena ‘control’ through socio-economic based questionnaires.
4) Attempt to determine brown hyena density in the northwest province by occupancy analysis and undertake GIS analysis to look at spatial patterns in an attempt to determine source and sink areas.
5) Through genetic analysis investigate the possible consequences of isolation between populations inside and outside protected areas, to determine their viability.
6) Promote human-wildlife coexistence through training, educational support, publicity and promotion via a range of media