Stuart Bence

• Broad interest in the ecology and conservation of Lepidoptera.
• Pollination systems and pollinator interactions in plants
• Conservation and provision of resources for pollinators.
• Role of citizen science in ecology and conservation research. As well as methods of engaging people and young people in the subject.
• General interests in entomology and insect interactions in the ecosystem.
• Landscape factors and their effect on species ecology and movements.
• Peatland habitats, methods of restoration and the ecology and conservation of the species that live in these habitats.

My background is in ecology and conservation, combining experience from a number of research projects as well as from working and volunteering on a number of projects. I have a BSc (hons) in Conservation, Biology and Management from the University of Stirling, as well as a Master's in Ecology and Sustainability from the University of Aberdeen . I have always had an interest in ecology and conservation and started volunteering from a young age. I continued this throughout university and was part of a team at the University of Stirling that encouraged student volunteering with a range of groups. The team also assisted different research groups with work on pollinators and radio tracking bats. Whilst at Stirling University I developed a keen interest in Lepidoptera, at first as pollinators and then into all aspects of their ecology and interactions with the wider ecosystem.

Past projects

• The effect of land use on the movements of the Blue tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans and population dynamics of the species. (Master's thesis)
• Assessing changes in key butterfly populations of the Forth valley in the last 50 years.
• Documenting the current status of the plant Sticky Catchfly in The Ochills.
• The effect of neonicotinoid pesticides on the foraging abilities of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris. (Undergraduate dissertation)