Dr Emma Stone
| Biography | Emma identified a gap in the field of the ecological impacts of artificial lighting and developed a novel field-based approach which demonstrated the first evidence of negative impacts of street lights on bats. Emma's work provides new insights into the effects of light disturbance on wildlife and suggests that the effects of disturbance on bats are species-specific and more complex than previously thought. This led to high impact publications including the first review paper in this field (e.g. [1] >383 citations; [2] >159 citations; [3] >106 citations). Emma has generated significant international interest, being invited to present papers at the European Symposium for the Protection of the Dark Sky, September 2009 and the International Conference of the Society for Conservation Biology Canada, July 2010. Emma's work has generated significant media interest, covered by BBC News Online, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Science Daily and several overseas newspapers. Emma collaborates closely with industry including Institute of Lighting Professionals to understand the technical aspects and needs of the lighting industry and future developments in the field, NGOs, (Bat Conservation Trust) and Government (Natural England (NE), Defra and Local Councils) to generate societal and economic impact from her work. Major grants include: Experimental approaches to determine the impacts of light pollution: field studies on bats and insects (NERC, 2012-15, 567K); Improving mitigation success where bats occupy houses and historic buildings, particularly churches (DEFRA, 2011-14, 565K); Ecosystem services provided by bats in agriculture in Malawi (Leverhulme Trust, 2013-16, 201K). Recent research highlights include: revealing the importance of dark corridors for foraging bats (Global Change Biology, 2018) and demonstrating the impacts of broad spectrum streetlights on insects (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018). Emma has established an international bat research centre in Malawi funded by ICLEI and Bat Conservation International (35K) where she leads a team of six researchers. ES has held grants >£1.6 million, and has published 20 papers in primary internationally refereed journals and books. Her work has been cited 1200 times (h-index 13). Emma has given five invited presentations at international meetings and more than 40 international research presentations and is a member of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group, NERC Expert Advisory Member, Editorial Board Member for Mammal Review and Vice Chair of the UWE Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee. |
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| Research Interests | Global Change Biology, specifically: Impacts of lighting on bats, urban ecology, tropical ecology, conservation legislation, bats and agriculture, landscape ecology, human wildlife conflict with carnivores and bats. Urban Ecology of African carnivores and bats. |
| Teaching and Learning | Environmental Field Techniques (Module Leader) Conservation Science Project (Module Leader) Professional Work Skills (Module Leader) |
| PhD Supervision Availability | Yes |
| PhD Topics | Urban Ecology, Bat Ecology and Conservation, Carnivore Ecology and Conservation, African Mammals, African Ecology |