Christopher Andrews

• Upland/Montane Ecosystems
  • Impacts of environmetnal change
  • Drivers and pressures of change at habitat and species level
  • Ground beetles in upland environments
  • Bats in upland environments
  • Remote landscape phenology 

Summary of Professional Expertise

I am currently employed as an ecologist, but am more specifically working as the manager for the Cairngorms ECN field site in the Allt a’Mharcaidh, Cairngorm NP. As a long-term monitoring station we record a wide range of biological and environmental data, allowing us to pick up changes in environmental and subsequent consequences for biodiversity at the site. Undertaking this work requires many varied skills including; team leading, the planning and execution of routine monitoring, compilation and management of large data sets, survey work (upland vegetation), ground beetle identification, GIS, and the recording and processing of acoustic/ultrasonic data used to remotely monitor bird and bat activity, amongst many others. I am the Cairngorms station manager within the Horizon2020 funded INTERACT2 (previously same role in INTERACT (EUFP7)) project, comprising a large consortia of research stations working across the arctic (and alpine) region to improve collaborative and multi-disciplinary research. Duties in this role are managerial, requiring close working with European colleagues and researchers worldwide to deliver shared project aims both remotely and through regular consortia forums/meetings.

During 2017/18 I rolled out the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) in Scotland.  Coordinating the identification of sites, communications with landowners and governing bodies, logistical planning and time management.  In 2018 I worked to train volunteers to take over the running of these research sites as part of the long-term aims of the project.

Elsewhere, I have experience and interest in both landscape phenology and ecosystem services at the landscape level (see publications). I have been the work package lead for field campaign elements of a recent EA funded lakes restoration project, and held a similar roll for the Scottish sites in the DEFRA funded National Pollinating and Pollinator Monitoring Framework trail in 2015. Further to those mentioned I have field and laboratory skills from riparian, agricultural and inter-tidal habitats on a variety of projects over the past 14 years.

Key Words identifying areas of Specialist Expertise:  Upland Ecology, Upland botany, Carabidae ground beetles, Invertebrates, Ecosystem services, Landscape phenology, Environmental Change.