ERT - Independent Ecological Research and Training

Email ERT

Tel:. +44 (0)776 0102173

Welcome to ERT - the independent ecological research
and training group directed by Dr Mark O'Connell

Our work is focused on:

Assessing the state of the environment (numbers, diversity, distribution & trends)

Evaluating how human activity results in pressure on natural systems

Generating optimal, cost-effective and sustainable responses (including capacity building and training), and evaluating their long-term outcomes

***Latest ERT News***

ERT's INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING CONFERENCE: ERT is running a major conference on building capacity in conservation organisations. The international congress will take place in Colombia in 2013, and involve Colombian partners from Fundacion Conserva. The meeting will cover best practice from a range of initiatives around the world, and include workshops on key conservation tools and issues. The website can be seen here..

SPATIAL ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION: In September, over 200 delegates from 30 countries attended ERT's international conference on Spatial Ecology & Conservation. A total of 86 papers and 3 plenary talks were presented, and these will published as a proceedings in a special edition of Ecological Informatics. A second meeting is planned for 2013. See the conference website and testimonials.

HONDURAN FIELD COURSE: In September, ERT successfully ran its fourth ecological field course to the cloud forests of Honduras. Seventeen undergraduate students from Bath University covered a range of topics under has three key themes: ecology, evolution and conservation. Photos to follow soon.....

ERT BUILDs SCIENCE CAPACITY IN MADAGASCAR: In June, ERT ran a training course in Madagascar aimed at building NGO capacity to undertake species distribution modelling using MaxENT techniques to support and evaluate conservation action.

GIS COURSE FOR CONSERVATION: ERT has just agreed to run its third GIS course for conservation professionals from a range of developing countries around the world. The five day training event (April 2012) is part of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's long-standing DESMAN course.

BAP SCIENCE SERVICES: The Wessex Water funded project now has a website. This includes 'University Link', an information tool listing the skills of over 100 academics from 10 institutions in the SW region of England. This will provide a resource for conservation practitioners seeking to enhance or link to research capacity.

KENTISH PLOVER PUBLICATION: The first estimate of Kentish Plover population size and areas of suitable habitat in Saudi Arabia has just been accepted for publication in the WSGB. ERT's director is an author on the paper and helped supervise the GIS analysis with Dr Peter Long at Bath University.

HISPANIOLAN MAMMALS: ERT is currently training conservation staff in the Dominican Republic to undertake species distribution models using GIS-derived data. The team has learnt how to produce and validate spatial models using a maximum entropy approach. This is part of a Darwin Initiative project led by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Hispaniolan partners.

HAITI GIS: ERT has developed a GIS of Haiti to support biodiversity conservation in this devastated region. This is part of a Darwin Initiative project led by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Institute of Zoology and Haitian partners.

Training &
Education

ERT offers training and capacity building services for professionals within the ecological sector. We also train the next generation of scientists within higher education, and provide access to ecology-related studies for ecological volunteers.

Our training & education services include:

	Professional ecology training & capacity building
	Assessment of training & capacity needs for individuals, departments and organisations.
	Development of bespoke, long-term and cost-effective training solutions with an emphasis on economies of scale.
	Ecology & Higher Education
	Lectures and curriculum development for a wide range of ecological, conservation, statistical and environmental courses.
	Logistics and curriculum for international field courses.
	Undergraduate and postgraduate project supervision.
	Work experience for under- and post-graduate students.
	Ecological volunteers
	Easily understood data analysis courses.
	Ecology field skills e.g. identification, sampling, tracking, etc.

NEW: Get into Conservation

Ecological
Research

Wherever possible, environmental protection, management, planning and policy should be based on robust scientific evidence. ERT uses a broad range of analytical research tools to underpin actions and solutions in the environment sector.

Our ecological research services include:

Field data collection

	Statistical design of field survey, census and monitoring activities.
	Design and logistics for behavioural and autecology studies.
	Data collection and monitoring for range of species and habitats.

Remote data collection

	Accessing, processing and enhancing multi-spectral satellite images (Landsat, IRS, SPOT, AVHRR, etc).
	Animal tracking: designing, supporting and undertaking radio or satellite telemetry studies.

Ecological data management

	Development of user-friendly relational databases.
	Conversion of data for access and analysis within Geographic Information Systems (ArcInfo and IDRISI).

Ecological data analysis

	ERT has the capacity to undertake or advise upon the analysis of environmental data using a wide range of techniques. These include:
	All standard correlational, regressive and compositional statistics.
	Spatial statistics within GIS (kriging, spatial autocorrelation, probability based habitat suitability mapping, etc).
	Trend and change analyses for animal populations, habitats and landscapes. This includes the analysis of long-term species or habitat monitoring data, and the development of biodiversity and vegetation indices.
	Modelling species and habitat distributions in relation to environmental and human influences using a range of techniques (Maximum Entropy, GLMs, GAMMs, etc).

Research design

	Advice on data collection, analysis and interpretation for new projects and funding proposals. This includes designing and integrating research methods to allow actions to be evaluated and then used in adaptive management and identifying best practice.
	How to prepare your research for scientific publication or dissemination within the environment & ecology sector.

Read more about ERT's research Associates

Find us with Google:
Ecology research & training. Ert ecology. ecology capacity.
Capacity building ecology.

ERT Ltd, 4 Peghouse Rise, Uplands, Stroud, Gloucestershire. GL5 1RT. UK

Registered Company No.7076719

Website and branding by IsaacPartnershipLtd

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.