All Staff Members | Claire D. S. Holt, PhD

Email: claire.holt@cumbria.ac.uk
Location: Ambleside

Biography

Claire completed her PhD in modelling ecological networks and dispersal in the grey squirrel in 2012 from Lancaster University. The three year PhD project was funded by Forestry Commission GB and the National School of Forestry and used a combination of landscape computer modelling within GIS, DNA sequence analysis and GPS and radio telemetry. Claire continued assessing modelling techniques for invasive forest pests as a Post-Doctoral research fellow at the University of Cumbria, funded by Forestry Commission GB. Current research interests are in invasive species, pest species, utilising modelling techniques, landscape connectivity and conservation genetics. Claire has been lecturing for the last 10 years and is currently programme lead for BSc(Hons) Forest Management and BSc(Hons) Forestry (Top Up) and lecturers in Geographical Information Science, Forest Health and Protection, Wildlife Management and Research Methods.

Qualifications and memberships

Qualifications

- PhD in Conservation Biology (Lancaster University, 2012)

- PgC in Teaching and Learning for Higher Education (University of Cumbria, 2017)

Memberships

- British Ecological Society

- Society of Conservation Biology

- Mammals Trust

Academic and research interests

Conservation of British mammals, Red and grey squirrel population dynamics, Invasive species management, Conservation Biology, Landscape Ecology, Landscape Genetics and Forest Health.

Current projects include:

Red squirrel genetics

Deer behaviour

Castor - Treescapes https://www.uktreescapes.org/projects/castor/

Research supervision

Current PhD student supervision

Amy Bradley - Developing an innovative technique for peatland assessment, pre and post restoration.

Hannah Field - Can place-based decision making be used to protect the natural resources and local communities?

Steve Hewitt - Habitat fidelity, ecology, and biogeography of Diptera on exposed riverine sediments.

Completed PhD

Dr Sara Iversen - Investigating stakeholder perceptions of woodland expansion in the uplands of Cumbria. Project is funded by the National School of Forestry at the University of Cumbria and the Forestry Commission.

Publications

Peer-reviewed papers

Dennis, M., Huck, J.J., Holt, C.D.S., da Conceição Bispo, P., McHenry, E., Speak, A., James, P. 2024. Land‑cover gradients determine alternate drivers of mammalian species richness in fragmented landscapes. Landscape Ecology 39:146.
Dennis, M., Huck, J.J., Holt, C.D.S., McHenry. 2024. A mechanistic approach to weighted edge-effects in landscape connectivity assessments. Landscape Ecology 39:68.
Iversen, S.V., MacDonald, M.C., van der Velden, N., van Soesbergen, A., Convery, I., Mansfield, Holt, C.D.S. 2024. Using the Ecosystem Services assessment tool TESSA to balance the multiple landscape demands of increasing woodlands in a UK national park. Ecosystem Services 8: 101644.
Synnott, R., Shuttleworth, C., Everest, D. J., Stevenson-Holt, C., O'Reilly, C., McDevitt, A. D., O'Meara, D. 2023. Invasive genetic rescue: dispersal following repeated culling reinforces the genetic diversity of an alien mammal. Biological Invasions 25: 3323- 3339.
Iversen, S.V., van der Velden, N., Convery, I., Mansfield, L., Kjeldsen, C., Havrregaard Thorsoe, M., Holt, C.D.S. 2023. Impacts of woodland planting on nature-based recreational tourism in upland England - A case study. Landscape and Urban Planning 230: 104587.
Iversen, S.V., van der Velden, N., Convery, I., Mansfield, L., Holt, C.D.S. 2022. Why understanding stakeholder perspectives and emotions is important in upland woodland creation- A case study from Cumbria, UK. Land Use Policy 114: 105929.
Holt, C.D.S., Nevin, O.T., Smith, D., and Convery I. 2018. Environmental niche overlap between snow leopard and four prey species in Kazakhstan. Ecological Informatics 48: 97-103.
Stevenson-Holt, C.D. and Sinclair, W. 2015. Assessing the geographic origin of the invasive grey squirrel using DNA sequencing: Implications for management strategies. Global Ecology and Conservation 3: 21-27.
Stevenson-Holt, C.D., Watts, K., Bellamy, C.C., Nevin, O.T., Ramsey, A.D. 2014 Defining landscape resistance values in least-cost connectivity models for the invasive grey squirrel: A comparison of approaches using expert-opinion and habitat suitability modelling. PlosOne 9(11): 1-11.
Stevenson, C.D., Ferryman, M., Nevin, O.T., Ramsey, A.D., Bailey, S, and Watts, K. (2013). Using GPS telemetry to validate least-cost modelling of gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) movement within a fragmented landscape. Ecology and Evolution 3 (7): 2350-2361.
Stevenson, C.D., Watts, K., Nevin, O.T., Ramsey, A.D., and Bailey, S (2013). Modelling ecological networks and dispersal in grey squirrels. Research Note FCRN014, Forestry Commission, Edinburgh.
Stevenson, C.D., Ramsey, A.D., Nevin, O.T. and W. Sinclair (2012). Assessing grey squirrel dispersal patterns within the landscape using DNA sequence variation. Landscape Research.