Job Description - The University of Edinburgh

Job Description
 Internship Title: NERC Research Experience Placement - Bats for
 biodiversity: where do bats live in the city, and what does this tell us
 about wider urban biodiversity?

 Department / School School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh

                              Dr Alfred Gathorne-Hardy
 Reports To                   a.gathorne-hardy@ed.ac.uk

Job Purpose
Working closely with the supervisory team, you will monitor bats to estimate the
wider biodiversity in urban habitats, using Edinburgh as a case study. This work is
composed of two parts: (a) a systematic review to understand the diet of different bat
species; and (b) the use of AudioMoth acoustic sensors to identify which bats feed
where in cities (as a pilot study). The systematic review will lead to a publication and,
when combined with the Edinburgh based primary data, will allow us to estimate the
wider biodiversity in cities.

Main responsibilities
   •   Facilitating data collection for the systematic review, including conducting the
       literature search, selecting studies, and extracting data
   •   Working closely with the supervisory team, co-design a pilot protocol for
       surveying bats across Edinburgh habitats using AudioMoths. This will include
       programming the AudioMoths and analysing data using the Acoustic Pipeline
       developed by the BTO
   •   Carry out the pilot project
   •   Analyse results and produce a report

Knowledge Skills and Experience
Person specification
 Attribute                  Essential                           Desirable
 Education,           •   Basic computing skills        •   Knowledge of
 Qualifications                                             experimental design
 & Training

•   Statistical analysis and
                                                           familiarity with R (or similar
                                                           software package)

 Knowledge &          •   Confidence to talk to
 Experience               diverse people (from
                          golf course managers
                          to private house
                          owners)
                      •   Enthusiasm for natural
                          history and wildlife

Planning & Organising
The student should be self-motivated and happy to design their own work schedules,
in collaboration with the wider project team.
Problem Solving
This project will involve lots of problem solving! It combines a ‘definite win’
component (the systematic review) and a higher risk pilot project (collecting data
from around Edinburgh). However, the problems are fascinating and the results will
be exciting!
Decision Making
Both components need categorical decisions to be made, and understanding of the
implications of those decisions. Often there is no right or wrong decision – making it
a harder but more interesting process

Key contacts
   •   Supervisory team: Alfy Gathorne-Hardy (a.gathorne-hardy@ed.ac.uk),
       Barbara Smith (barbarasmithmail@gmail.com)
   •   PhD mentor: Helen Waters (helen.waters@ed.ac.uk)
   •   Other: Stuart Newson (BTO)

Dimensions
Closing date for applications: 15 May 2022
Interview date: to be determined by the supervisor
Start date: probably starting before the end of June, but open for discussion
Hours per week and preferred pattern/restrictions (if applicable): 35 hours per
week (part-time option available)
Length of internship: 7 weeks (including 4.5 days of annual leave)

Additional Information
Host and Project outline
The ability to fly gives animals access to a range of considerable advantages: they
can escape predators or capture prey, they can access diverse habits or cover vast
distances with speed and efficiency (for more details on this topic read On the wing:
insects, pterosaurs, birds, bats and the evolution of animal flight by Alexander and

Taliaferro (OUP, 2015) - a fascinating and accessible book). It is likely due to these
benefits that flying animals have been so evolutionarily successful; just think of the
diversity of insect and bird species. Bats, the focus of this project, are the only group
of mammals that can fly, yet they represent 25% of UK mammal species.
Using flight and echolocation, all UK bat species are carnivorous. Due of their
position at the top of the food chain we can assume that habitats favoured by feeding
bats also support the wider food chain associated with their prey. The sensitivity of
bats to the availability of their food source could allow us to use bats as an indicator
of wider biodiversity and habitat quality.
However, there remains an important key knowledge gap concerning the diets of
different bat species and there is no comprehensive source to aid the ecologist. The
student will contribute to a systematic review of bat diet, to enable us to understand
what the presence of bats indicates about other species. Systematic reviews are a
powerful tool, and experience of using them will be valuable to students in many
aspects of academia. The systematic review is expected to contribute about 80% of
the project time, and is likely to lead to a publication. During the systematic review,
the student will be fully supported by the project supervisors.
Additionally, and concurrently, the student will develop a pilot project to understand
which urban habitats are favoured by bats. Urban habitats have become increasingly
important for wildlife in the UK, but so far little work has taken place looking at the
types of urban areas most favoured by bats. The student will use AudioMoths to
compare bat activity in different habitats around Edinburgh, and use the Acoustic
Pipeline (a software developed by Stuart Newson of the BTO, who will assist this
project) to identify individual species. The student will be able to take a leading role
in developing the pilot study design. The pilot will both explore the presence /
absence of bat species in different areas, and also develop methods to compare the
relative value of different urban land uses including: golf courses, allotments,
Edinburgh’s ‘seven hills’, and areas of varying urban density.
Note: (i) the student should be friendly and confident to talk to people from diverse
backgrounds, so that people are happy to ‘host’ the AudioMoths; (ii) the student
would benefit from easy access to the city, for example access to a bicycle; (iii) this
part of the project is a pilot study – it is designed to test methods rather than collect
data appropriate for publication.
This is expected to represent about 20% of total project time, but will happen
concurrently with the systematic review.
The project will take place over 7 weeks. The dates can be negotiated by the student
with the wider supervisory team, but starting early in the summer would be beneficial
for field data collection of bat activity in Edinburgh.
The student will be fully supported throughout the project and will have the
opportunity to contribute to the design and main activities involved in this research.
There will be expert input from the BTO and opportunities to develop ideas with
those leading the field of acoustic monitoring.

We hope and expect that a paper will come out of the systematic review, with the
student included in the author list.
Budget
£500 Research Costs (included) for travel costs
Location
The student will be hosted in KB, we expect in the room normally allocated for
dissertation write up students. They should bring their own laptop if possible. All
other equipment and software will be provided by the supervisors.
Health & Safety Requirements for the role
The job will include independent travel within Edinburgh.

Key Job hazard information specific to the role
n/a
Covid-19 contingency plan
In principle this whole project could work from any location in Edinburgh. If the
student would not have Edinburgh based accommodation, then the location of
fieldwork could change too, as that component is a pilot study.

Programme Information
Research Experience Placement is a summer placement scheme funded by NERC,
aimed at undergraduate students to address demographic and diversity-related
challenges in the environmental sciences as well as thematic skills gaps (e.g.
quantitative skills).
Please see the application instructions and selection process on the REP
webpage: Research Experience Placements (REPs) | The University of Edinburgh

As well as great work experience, the Careers Service provides supporting
resources, this is combined with a framework to support the development of
participants’ employability and self-reflection with an Edinburgh Award as part of the
internship.

Application Support
For guidance on writing an effective application see our website: CV, Applications
and Interview Advice
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Eligibility
Students must meet ALL of the following criteria to be eligible to apply for a REP.
The students must:

      •   Be undertaking their first undergraduate degree studies (or integrated
          Masters) in a UK Higher Education institution in any science discipline - Year
          2 onwards;
          Note: students in their final year who have graduated and no longer have
          student status at the time the placement starts are not eligible. If the student

meets the eligibility criteria (i.e., has student status) at the beginning of the
       placement, we would consider the eligibility criteria to be met even if the
       student graduates during the course of the placement.
   •   Be eligible for subsequent NERC PhD funding as defined here, i.e. be either:
          o an UK citizen who has been living in the UK for at least the past 3
              years OR
          o an EU citizen with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement
              Scheme OR
          o a non-EU citizen who has obtained the right to remain in the UK -
              known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR) OR
          o an International/EU student already studying in the UK and currently
              under a Tier 4 or Student Route Visa with validity until at least
              September 2022
REPs do not meet the requirements for a visa request therefore non-UK
students who are not currently living in the UK or who are without a suitable
UK visa are not eligible to apply.
Internships are ONLY open to undergraduate students studying in an UK Higher
Education institution and based in the UK. You cannot take part if you are a visiting
student, or you have already taken part in the programme before.

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