Eleanor Foster

PhD student content

PhD student

eleanor.foster@uhi.ac.uk

PhD: Will feral pigs aid or threaten landscape scale nature recovery in Scotland? Understanding their genetics, ecology and public perceptions.

Supervisor: Prof. Bernd Hänfling

I studied geography as a bachelors and ecology as a masters degree and consider myself a general earth scientist. I like to look at the big picture and investigate relationships between land, people and ecology. I have worked as an ecological consultant and environmental educator for many years, building my observation and knowledge of the natural world and people’s interactions with it.

My undergraduate research project examined the role of environmental education in developing countries and correlations between water pollution levels (Case studies in Pune, India).

Research interests:

  • Ethnobotany
  • Environmental anthropology
  • Ecosystem ecology
  • Biogeography

Research project highlights:

  • Will feral pigs (Sus scrofa) aid or threaten landscape scale nature recovery in Scotland? Understanding their genetics, ecology and public perceptions.

Past projects:

  • Understanding relationships between ecology and public perception of urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes). MSc research project.
  • Evaluating the biodiversity of regenerating tropical rainforest, understanding the long-term impacts of different forestry methods and timescales of regeneration. Crees-manu
  • Habitat restoration project with Wild Things. Managing volunteers and establishing best practice for promoting biodiversity and controlling invasive non-native species of plants along riparian woodland in Moray.