Population ecology and conservation of hazel dormice

尽管有严格的保护和重大的保护努力，在英格兰和威尔士的榛睡鼠种群继续下降。埃克塞特大学（Goodwin et al 2017）最近的分析发现，从1993年到2014年，睡鼠种群减少了72%，并表明该物种在英国可被归类为濒危物种。我们最近的工作（Goodwin et al 2018 a，B）也强调了改善林地管理以提高英国物种保护状况的重要性。这个合作的CASE项目将涉及对睡鼠和林业实践的实地考察。学生将与主要的保护组织一起工作，建立在最近的工作对睡鼠生态和评估和改善林地管理的做法，以扭转这种最可爱的英国哺乳动物的命运。项目的目的和方法这个项目的总体目标是了解睡鼠保护状态的变化，评估林地管理和提供证据，以支持睡鼠恢复在英国的改进做法。为此，将利用遥感数据广泛分析睡鼠种群和林地特征，同时对商用和非商用阔叶和针叶林地样本中的睡鼠及其生境进行深入调查。学生将调查林地管理人员，以了解有关保护法规和商业及其他管理目标的实践。学生还将有机会采用分子遗传技术来了解睡鼠种群过程，并开发种群模型，以了解实践中的变化如何长期影响种群。学生将在英格兰和威尔士的公共和私人森林中工作，在那里睡鼠蓬勃发展的采样点和它们正在下降的地点。该项目将需要在康沃尔郡以外的地方进行长时间的实地考察，并在卡迪夫和森林研究中心的实验室进行长时间的实地考察。埃克塞特，卡迪夫和合作组织的培训项目合作伙伴将提供广泛的保护科学培训，包括：利用陆地和遥感数据进行物种状况评估、生态调查和分析，森林生态学，并有更多的机会采用人口过程的分子分析，从业人员的社会调查和人口建模。

Despite their strict protection and major conservation efforts, populations of hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius in England and Wales continue to decline. Recent analyses by the University of Exeter (Goodwin et al 2017) identified a 72% decline in dormouse populations from 1993 to 2014 and suggested that the species could be categorized as Endangered in the UK. Our recent work (Goodwin et al 2018a, b) has also highlighted the importance of improving woodland management to enhance the conservation status of the species in the UK. This collaborative CASE project will involve fieldwork on dormice and forestry practice. The student will work alongside key conservation organisations to build on recent work on dormouse ecology and to evaluate and improve woodland management practices in order to reverse the fortunes of this most endearing British mammal.Project Aims and MethodsThe overall aim of this project is to understand variation in dormouse conservation status, evaluate woodland management and provide evidence for improved practices to support dormouse recovery in the UK. This will be achieved by extensive analysis of dormouse populations and of woodland characteristics, using remotely sensed data, accompanied by intensive surveys of dormice and habitats in a sample of commercial and non-commercial, broadleaf and coniferous woodlands. The student will survey woodland managers to understand practice in relation to conservation regulation and commercial and other management objectives. The student will also have the opportunity to employ molecular genetic techniques to understand dormouse population processes and to develop population models to understand how variation in practice might affect populations in the long term. The student will work at public and private forests across England and Wales, sampling sites at which dormice are thriving and sites where they are in decline. The project will require extended periods of fieldwork away from Cornwall, and periods in the laboratory in Cardiff and at Forest Research.TrainingProject partners at Exeter, Cardiff and at the partner organisations will provide broad-based training in conservation science, including: species status assessment, ecological survey and analysis using terrestrial and remotely sensed data, forest ecology and with the additional opportunity to employ molecular analysis of population processes, social surveys of practitioners and population modelling.