Gareth Bradbury

PhD Researcher and Post-Doctoral Research Associate

g.bradbury@exeter.ac.uk

CREWW Building

Overview

Since 2020 I have been researching the impacts of re-introduced beavers (Castor fiber) on stream water quality in England.

I came to the department from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust charity (WWT) where I was a Nature Reserves Management Advisor, working with Managers across 10 nature reserves to help ensure compliance with designations and operations and improving management for wildlife features.

Prior to this I was a Senior Consultant for WWT, managing and delivering wetland habitat and landscape restoration projects, surveys and monitoring. Highlights include a rapid assessment of wetlands in Oman, helping set up a national waterbird monitoring program in Kuwait, management planning advice for a new wetland nature reserve in Chile, project managing the surveys and design for the restoration of 180ha of fen from arable farmland for the Great Fen Project and a swathe of other fluvial and floodplain wetland habitat restoration and Sustainable Drainage Scheme (SuDS) projects. I was also lucky enough to fly over 200 marine wildlife aerial surveys around the UK and Danish coasts for nature conservation monitoring and offshore renewable energy assessments.

Previous roles include seabird colony reserve management and surveys around the UK and internationally.

Broad research specialisms:

Wetland ecology, restoration, water quality, water birds, seabirds

Qualifications

MSc Biological Recording, University of Birmingham

BSc Environmental Biology, University of St. Andrews

Research

Research interests

Can beaver-modified ecosystems mitigate water quality deterioration caused by diffuse pollution?

Supervisors: Prof. Richard Brazier, Dr. Alan Puttock, Dr. Gemma Coxon (University of Bristol), Dr. Stewart Clarke (National Trust)

Funding Body: NERC FRESH

Using a multiple-site, control-impact research design I am investigating nutrient fluxes upstream, within and downstream of beaver wetlands in the south-west of England. Research methods include deployment of multi-parameter sensors (sondes), regular water and sediment grab samples for chemical analysis and sonar monitoring of pond sediment bathymetry changes. These will be combined to examine effects on nutrient pollutant loadings and storage under a variety of flow conditions across sites.

Research networks

NERC FRESH CDT, GW4, National Trust

Publications

Journal articles

Auster RE, Puttock A, Bradbury G, Brazier R (2023). Should individual animals be given names in wildlife reintroductions?. People and Nature, 5(4), 1110-1118. Abstract.

Bradbury G, Puttock A, Coxon G, Clarke S, Brazier RE (2023). Testing a novel sonar-based approach for measuring water depth and monitoring sediment storage in beaver ponds. RIVER RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS, 39(2), 266-273. Author URL.

Waggitt JJ, Evans PGH, Andrade J, Banks AN, Boisseau O, Bolton M, Bradbury G, Brereton T, Camphuysen CJ, Durinck J, et al (2020). Distribution maps of cetacean and seabird populations in the North-East Atlantic. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57(2), 253-269. Abstract.

Hughes R, Le Bouard F, Bradbury G, Owen E (2019). A Census of the Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica breeding on Orkney in 2016. Seabird Journal, 31, 56-63. Abstract.

Bradbury G, Trinder M, Furness B, Banks AN, Caldow RWG, Hume D (2017). Erratum: Correction: Mapping Seabird Sensitivity to Offshore Wind Farms (PloS one (2014) 9 9 (e106366)). PloS one, 12(1). Abstract.

Williamson LD, Brookes KL, Scott BE, Graham IM, Bradbury G, Hammond PS, Thompson PM (2016). Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7(7), 762-769. Abstract.

Bradbury G, Trinder M, Furness B, Banks AN, Caldow RWG, Hume D (2014). Mapping seabird sensitivity to offshore wind farms. PLoS One, 9(9). Abstract. Author URL.

Maclean IM, Inger R, Booth CG, Embling CB, Grecian WJ, Heymans JJ, Plummer K, Shackshaft M, Sparling C, Wilson B, et al (2014). Resolving issues with environmental impact assessment of marine renewable energy installations. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1(75).

Thompson PM, Brookes KL, Graham IM, Barton TR, Needham K, Bradbury G, Merchant ND (2013). Short-term disturbance by a commercial two-dimensional seismic survey does not lead to long-term displacement of harbour porpoises. Proc Biol Sci, 280(1771). Abstract. Author URL.

Office Hours:

Monday - Tuesday (Post-doc)

Wednesday - Friday (PhD)

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