Dr Scott Pedley
Senior Lecturer in Ecology and MSc Global Conservation Biology programme leader
Ecologist specialising in invertebrate and community ecology
My profile
Biography
I am an ecologist specialising in understanding how patterns of community assembly and physiological traits can be used to aid landscape-scale restoration and species conservation. My research interests reach across multiple taxa (invertebrates, plants, mammals, and birds) but I have a particular interest in spiders.
Through large-scale field experiments I have demonstrated how to add ecological value to forestry landscapes and the difficulty in generalising biological response across taxa. My research on forest systems has demonstrated the reduction of phylogenetic and functional diversity within commercial forests and the limitations of current forestry management policy. I have worked with land managers and conservation practitioners to establish methods to improve biodiversity outcomes which have been incorporated into UK conservation policy.
Recently I have also undertaken research projects examining invertebrate responses to disturbance in controlled lab settings. These projects allow a very detailed investigation of how species behaviour may be altered under increasing anthropogenic disturbance pressures.
Teaching
I am passionate about research-informed teaching and ensure that my teaching and research are interdependent, allowing students to learn state-of-the-art material and techniques at every level. My teaching experience includes classroom, field and laboratory settings. I have designed and led lectures, seminars, practicals and field sessions in a range of ecological and biological subjects.
I have recently developed a second year UG unit, Landscape Ecology, which is one of my areas of research expertise, and lead a teaching team that is at the cutting edge of this field. Together we deliver up to date research-informed teaching through a series of continually updated journal clubs, that includes our own published research and that of our peers, as well as a series of GIS labs developed by myself.
I have also developed a unique first year unit, How Science Works, to better equip students with essential skills in the sciences. The unit prepares students with skills such as scientific writing, research ethics, statistics and coding, referencing, literature searching and research design. Students are better prepared to succeed and progress in their degree having obtained a uniformed delivery of these core skills.
I annually teach on overseas field courses, in particular an MSc level field course to the forests on Białowieża, Poland, where students undertake research in forestry management, forest ecology and animal behaviour.
I have established new statistical training approaches which comprises the implementation of R Statistics as a universal teaching platform for data analysis, data handling and visualisation. I developed a standardised teaching framework for statistics implemented across all lectures, computer practicals and support materials for all UG and MSc levels. R software is now the cutting-edge choice for the vast majority of researchers across STEM subjects and is a significant boost to students’ employability.
Postgraduate units
- Statistics and Research Design (Unit Coordinator)
- Field course
Undergraduate units
- How Science Works (Unit Coordinator)
- Landscape Ecology (Unit Coordinator)
- Species Interactions
- Professional Skills
Research outputs
My research interests concentrate on theoretical and applied community ecology with a particular focus on landscape scale research. I have a specific interest in using species communities and species traits to examine conservation issues and have recently been investigating ecosystem functions and their relationships with biodiversity. To date my research has focused on the following areas:
- Landscape connectivity and fragmentation
- Forestry ecology
- Relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Biodiversity response to landscape change
- Community assembly patterns
- Invertebrate behaviour
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Journal articles
Pedley, S., Wolstenholme, P., Dolman, P.M. (2023) 'Plantation clear-fell patches benefit heathland arthropods.' Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 4(3)
Byrne, B., de Kort, S.R., Pedley, S.M. (2022) 'Leafcutter ants adjust foraging behaviours when exposed to noise disturbance.' PLoS One, 17(6) pp. e0269517-e0269517.
Wolstenholme, P., Pedley, S.M. (2021) 'Permeability of commercial landscapes: integrating plantation forest trackways into ecological networks.' Landscape Ecology, 36pp. 1459-1474.
Pedley, S.M., Dolman, P.M. (2020) 'Arthropod traits and assemblages differ between core patches, transient stepping-stones and landscape corridors.' Landscape Ecology, 35(4) pp. 937-952.
Pedley, S., Barbaro, L., Guilherme, J., Irwin, S., O’Halloran, J., Proença, V., Sullivan, M. (2019) 'Functional shifts in bird communities from semi-natural oak forests to conifer plantations are not consistent across Europe.' PLoS ONE, 14(7) pp. e0220115-e0220115.
Edge, R.S., Sullivan, M.J.P., Pedley, S.M., Mossman, H. (2019) 'Species interactions modulate the response of saltmarsh plants to flooding.' Annals of Botany, 125(2) pp. 315-324.
Pedley, S.M., Oxbrough, A., Martin, R.D., Irwin, S., Kelly, T.C., O'Halloran, J. (2016) 'Can ground-based assessments of forest biodiversity reflect the biological condition of canopy assemblages?.' Forest Ecology and Management, 359pp. 190-198.
Pedley, S.M., Dolman, P.M. (2014) 'Multi-taxa trait and functional responses to physical disturbance.' Journal of Animal Ecology, 83(6) pp. 1542-1552.
Irwin, S., Pedley, S.M., Coote, L., Dietzsch, A.C., Wilson, M.W., Oxbrough, A., Sweeney, O., Moore, K.M., Martin, R., Kelly, D.L., Mitchell, F.J.G., Kelly, T.C., O'Halloran, J. (2014) 'The value of plantation forests for plant, invertebrate and bird diversity and the potential for cross-taxon surrogacy.' Biodiversity and Conservation, 23(3) pp. 697-714.
Pedley, S.M., Martin, R.D., Oxbrough, A., Irwin, S., Kelly, T.C., O'Halloran, J. (2014) 'Commercial spruce plantations support a limited. canopy fauna: Evidence from a multi taxa comparison of native and plantation forests.' Forest Ecology and Management, 314pp. 172-182.
Ji, Y., Ashton, L., Pedley, S.M., Edwards, D.P., Tang, Y., Nakamura, A., Kitching, R., Dolman, P.M., Woodcock, P., Edwards, F.A., Larsen, T.H., Hsu, W.W., Benedick, S., Hamer, K.C., Wilcove, D.S., Bruce, C., Wang, X., Levi, T., Lott, M., Emerson, B.C., Yu, D.W. (2013) 'Reliable, verifiable and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding.' Ecology Letters, 16(10) pp. 1245-1257.
Pedley, S.M., Franco, A.M.A., Pankhurst, T., Dolman, P.M. (2013) 'Physical disturbance enhances ecological networks for heathland biota: A multiple taxa experiment.' Biological Conservation, 160pp. 173-182.
Pedley, S.M., Bertoncelj, I., Dolman, P.M. (2012) 'The value of the trackway system within a lowland plantation forest for ground-active spiders.' Journal of Insect Conservation, 17
Career history
2016-Present
Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Manchester Metropolitan University
2017
PGCLTHE, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
2015
Postdoctoral Researcher, Durham University, UK
2014
Postdoctoral Researcher, University College Cork, Ireland
2013
PhD, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Title: Effects of experimental disturbance on multi-taxa assemblages and traits: conservation implication in a forest-open landscape mosaic.
2008
BSc in Ecology (1st Class), School of Biological Sciences, UEA, Norwich, UK