Role
Dr Yarnell is the Leader of the Ecology and Conservation Research Group and REF2021 Unit of Assessment Co-ordinator for C14 Geography and Environmental Studies. He also teaches undergraduate modules including Wildlife Management and the African Field Course, and the Postgraduate module Protected Species Surveying. His research interests lie within the broad field of ecology and conservation.
Career overview
Competitive fully funded PhD studentships are available via www.ntu.ac.uk/phdstudentships. Please email richard.yarnell@ntu.ac.uk to discuss projects in the area of ecology and conservation.
CEO,
Ecologist, (Now Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Research areas
Areas of research interest include:
- carnivore ecology and conservation
- population dynamics of small mammals
- focal species include brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) and the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus).
Current PhD students:
- (Started 2017) Trophic Cascades: the role of apex predators in Europe’s modern human- dominated landscapes.
- (Started 2017) Using the Random Encounter Model (REM) to estimate rural and urban hedgehog population size.
- (50% Matched funding PTES/NTU)(Started 2017): Untangling the roles of prey availability, habitat quality and predation as predictors of hedgehog abundance.
- (Started 2018): Barn owl breeding success.
- (Started 2016) Leopard ecology and conservation in Malawi – In collaboration with Carnivore Research Malawi and Dr Emma Stone.
- (50% Matched funding PTES/NTU) (Started 2019): Understanding and mitigating the impacts of roads on hedgehogs.
- (Started 2020): Livestock guarding dogs and African carnivores
- Richard Wilkinson (Started 2019): The impact of invasive mammals on Arctic tern breeding success
Past PhD students:
- Louisa Richmond-Coggan (Brown hyaena conservation in South Africa)
- (Bioacoustics of wolf howls)
- (Conservation of Gyps vultures in Southern Africa)
- (Using personality to improve species reintroduction success)
- (A comparison of urban and rural behaviours in the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus))
- Oluseun Akinsorotan (Impacts of illegal human activities on mammal occupancy in Old Oyo National Park, Nigeria)
Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil / PhD in the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Science exist, and further information may be obtained from the NTU Doctoral School.
External activity
Dr Yarnell is a member of:
- Subject Editor for the and the
He is also a reviewer for the following Journals: PLoS ONE, Journal of Mammalogy, European Journal of Wildlife Research, Journal of Zoology, Oecologia, and Ecological Applications.
Sponsors and collaborators
Current and recent research is conducted with the collaboration, funding and / or support of:
- University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Conservation Research Africa
Publications
. Hayward MW, Boitani L, Burrows ND, Funston PJ, Ullas Karanth K, MacKenzie DI, Pollock KH, Yarnell R, Journal of Applied Ecology, 2015, 52 (2), 286-290
. Yarnell RW, Phipps WL, Dell S, MacTavish LM and Scott D, African Journal of Ecology, 2014, 53 (3), 287-294
. Yarnell RW, Williams B, Neumann JL, Rymer DJ and Baker PJ, Mammal Review, 2014, 44 (3-4), 234-238
. Root-Gutteridge H, Bencsik M, Chebli M, Gentle LK, Terrell-Nield C, Bourit A and Yarnell RW, Bioacoustics, 2014, 23 (1), 39-53
Glasby L and Yarnell RW, European Journal of Wildlife Research, 2013, 59 (6), 915-919
Phipps L, Wolter M, MacTavish L and Yarnell RW, PLoS ONE, 2013, 8 (10), e76794
. St. John FAV, Edwards-Jones G, Keane A, Jones L, Yarnell RW and Jones JPG, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2011, 279 (1729), 804-812
. Yarnell RW, Scott DM, Chimimba CT & Metcalfe DJ, Oecologia, 2007, 154, 387-402
KETTEL, E.F., GENTLE, L.K., YARNELL, R.W. and QUINN, J.L., 2018. Urban Ecosystems. ISSN 1083-8155
WILLIAMS, B.M., BAKER, P.J., THOMAS, E., WILSON, G., JUDGE, J. and YARNELL, R.W., 2018. Scientific Reports, 8 (1): 12156. ISSN 2045-2322
KETTEL, E.F., GENTLE, L.K., QUINN, J.L. and YARNELL, R.W., 2017. Journal of Ornithology. ISSN 2193-7206
Press expertise
- Conservation
- Wildlife
- Hedgehogs
- Hyaena
- Badgers
- Wildlife management