Catrin Eden

PhD intern

About me

My research career was inspired at WWT Caerlaverock in 2019 where I completed a year as a reserves management placement student. During the year I carried out a research project looking at the population trends and breeding success of moorhen on the reserve, with the help of the principal research officer. This experience, as well as learning more about the impacts of WWT’s research, convinced me to pursue a career in applied conservation research. I am now in the third year of my PhD, which involves trying to understand the ecology and drivers of breeding success of spotted flycatchers. One aim of my PhD is to understand whether and how flycatchers use freshwater systems, especially whether or not they use aquatic subsidies (food from aquatic sources).

My role

In line with the career plan originally formulated at Caerlaverock, I have now returned to WWT to carry out a three-month placement with the Conservation Evidence department. During this time, I will be analysing the movements of curlew that breed in the Severn and Avon Vales catchment. By doing this, it is hoped that we can gain a better understanding of the land they are using throughout the study site, and how far they range during their breeding period.

Experience and interests

• R programming
• Bird ringing
• Data manipulation
• Nest finding & monitoring
• Data analysis