View Details of Some of the Projects Undertaken by BioEcoSS Ltd.

BioEcoSS Ltd and Simon Poulton have undertaken many contracts over the last fifteen years. To give a flavour of the type of work, the following pages give brief résumés of a number of projects. Some of them have video demonstrations or links to PDF files of reports and papers. Use the sub-headings below to open the pages and then click on the icons on the right-hand side to run the videos and PDFs.

The Environmental Monitoring Database (EMD) for Natural England

A database developed in MS Access to hold the environmental data form Natural Englands's monitoring programmes. It holds over 4.5 million ecological and environmental data items from Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA), Stewardship and Phase II Grassland Inventory schemes.

The Mammal Society / BTO Winter Mammal Monitoring Pilot Project

BioEcoSS Ltd. was a collaborator in this joint project with The Mammal Society (TMS) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). The project ran for three years to pilot a scheme for monitoring all mammal species in the UK, using winter sightings and signs.

Analysis of Pine Marten Distribution in England and Wales

This analysis of pine marten distribution for the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) used computer-intensive techniques such as genetic algorithms and permutation tests. They were used to predict the probability that sightings from members of the public were correct and so indicated a putative distribution.

The National Small Mammal Monitoring Scheme

This is a volunteer-based scheme run by The Mammal Society (TMS). Over a period of five years BioEcoSS Ltd. contributed to all stages of its development, piloting and launch. This included the design of the sampling strategy and field protocols, power analyses and the analysis of the first year's data.

The Use of DNA to Estimate Population Sizes in Cambodian Elephants

Fauna & Flora Internation (FFI) have been monitoring endangered populations of elephants in Cambodia using the non-invasive technique of DNA extraction from dung samples. BioEcoSS Ltd. provided analytical expertise to provide population estimates using Monte Carlo methods and genetic algorithms.

The Vincent Wildlife Trust Batbox Database and Analysis

The vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) has been trialling several types of batbox over the last twelve years. During this time they have collected over 70,000 inspection records and contracted BioEcoSS Ltd. to create a relational database to hold them and carry out a full analysis.

The World Pheasant Association Expedition to Pipar, Nepal

The World Pheasant Association (WPA) has been monitoring populations of three pheasant species in the Annapurna region of Nepal for over thirty years. They asked Simon Poulton to join the 2011 expedition to Pipar to appraise the sampling strategy and field methods and to make recommendations for the continuation of this extremely valuable project.

The Habitat Condition Assessment Power Analysis Tool for NE/CCW

The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and Natural England (NE) both required power analyses to indicate sample sizes required for habitat condition assessments. In this project, BioEcoSS Ltd. created an interactive power analysis tool to allow users to carry out their own "what if" type analyses.