Ecological Statistician
Marine Biologist
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland
katherine.whyte@bioss.ac.uk
Ecological Statistician
Marine Biologist
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland
katherine.whyte@bioss.ac.uk
I'm an ecological statistician and marine biologist based in Fife, Scotland.
I work as a Senior Ecological and Environmental Statistician at Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS). My main role is quantitative research into understanding the potential effects of marine renewable energy (in particular offshore wind farms) on seabirds and marine mammals. I design and deliver statistical analyses to answer applied questions in this area, and develop methods and analysis tools for these studies.
My work involves collaborations with organisations across academia, government, and industry. This close collaboration enables the resulting research and its outcomes to be incorporated into future management of the marine environment. In addition to my research, I am passionate about high quality knowledge exchange and science communication. I currently hold an Honorary Research Fellow position at the University of St Andrews, was a Royal Statistical Society William Guy Lecturer (2023-24), and have been an active STEM Ambassador since 2019.
If you would like to get in touch, please drop me an email.
My research interests lie in human-wildlife interactions, animal movement, statistical ecology and marine biology. I am particularly interested in the effects of disturbance on animal movement behaviour, and in using and developing statistical methods to (1) further understand animal ecology in these contexts, and (2) provide useful information for future management of human activities. Listed below are keywords covering both my previous experience and areas of current research:
Understanding why and how animals use particular habitats is key to predicting future animal distributions, and enabling appropriate conservation and management of wild animal populations.
Human activities can drive and potentially impact animal behaviours, distributions, and populations. Robustly modelling these human-wildlife interactions improves our estimates of potential risks and ways to mitigate this.
Statistical methods need to be available which are transparent, scalable, and can integrate growing volumes and types of data. In particular, many studies now rely on data collected from biologging devices.
I contribute to the wider scientific community ("academic/science citizenship") in a number of ways. Here are some current and past highlights:
I am delighted to be currently supervising:
Alumni:
I enjoy sharing my work with a wide range of audiences, both in person and online. As well as communicating my own research, I am passionate about increasing engagement with science, statistics, and nature in general.
I have experience in giving talks to the general public, leading small group activities (eg. rockpooling explorations, activities with young people, school visits), and in particular in designing and running outreach activities at science festivals and public events. I actively share my work on social media, and have written several guest blog posts on projects that I’ve been involved with (eg. National Museums Scotland, Isle of May NNR).
I have been actively working in public engagement and outreach since 2016, and became a STEM Ambassador in 2019.
I was appointed by the RSS in an honorary role to engage with schools across the UK and highlight the importance of statistics in combatting climate change. My role was focussed on primary schools (ages 5-11). As part of this, I produced an online video which can be used as a resource in schools.
In 2023, I was part of a team which co-designed and led a novel careers event for young people, bringing together young people, researchers and businesses. It was attended by 70 young people across Perthshire, Edinburgh and Dundee. Read more here.
(Picture from a previous science festival event.)
In 2019, I collaborated with a composer, Aileen Sweeney, who composed a piece of music inspired by my research. The composition, entitled "Spindly White Flowers", was performed live in St Andrews.
You can listen to an excerpt here:
During my PhD, I was employed as a tutor and demonstrator (2017-2021) in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews. I have experience teaching and/or marking on the following undergraduate and masters courses, in particular for quantitative skills for biologists (mathematics, statistics, and use of R statistical software):
More recently, I have participated as an invited guest speaker on the "Current Issues in Biologging" course (2022).
I have presented the following talks and posters at conferences, meetings and public events:
Talk
Invited to present
Poster
Content accessible to the general public
Speed Talk
Listed here are the publications I have co-authored, with links to each. If you cannot access a published paper, feel free to get in touch.
If you are interested in the full version of my CV, please get in touch.
Volunteer Wildlife Guide at Sea Life Surveys (Aug 2014)
Volunteer Animal Care Assistant at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary (Jul 2012)
Volunteer Field Worker at Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (Jun 2012 & Jun 2011)
Volunteer Reserve Assistant at Isle of May NNR, NatureScot (Aug 2011)