Role
Esther is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation in the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, teaching a range of subjects to BSc and FdSc Wildlife Conservation, BSc Ecology and Conservation, BSc Environmental Science and BSc Zoology. She is module leader for Principles of Ecology (L4), Ecological Census Techniques (L4), Wildlife Conflicts and Resolutions (L6) and Introduction to Ecological Consultancy (L6). Esther supervises a range of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in ecology and wildlife conservation.
Esther is an active researcher, with interests in avian and mammalian ecology and conservation. She is particularly interested in assessing the impact of changing landscapes on population trends and human-wildlife conflicts.
Career overview
Esther gained a first-class honours degree in Wildlife Conservation from Nottingham Trent University, an MRes in Conservation Biology from the University of Nottingham and a PhD in Ecology from Nottingham Trent University.
Before joining NTU as a Lecturer in 2019, Esther worked as a Research Ecologist with the British Trust for Ornithology where she worked on a range of projects related to bird populations. Esther has also worked with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and People's Trust for Endangered Species, conducting riparian mammal research across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Esther has also worked as a Freelance Ecological Consultant, carrying out bird, bat, amphibian and reptile surveys.
Research areas
Esther has broad research interests related to the ecology and conservation of birds and mammals (mainly) in the UK. She has led and/or been involved in the following research areas:
- Impacts of urbanisation and development on wildlife
- Human-wildlife conflict (particularly raptors)
- Effectiveness of conservation measures in relation to climate change
- Breeding performance of birds (including house martin, house sparrow, peregrine falcon)
- Monitoring techniques for small mammals
Publications
Bowgen, K., Kettel, E.F., Butchart, S., Carr, J., Foden, W., Magin, G., Morecroft, M.D., Smith, R.K., Stein, B.A., Sutherland, W.J., Thaxter, C. and Pearce-Higgins, J.W. (2022) Conservation interventions can benefit species impacted by climate change, Biological Conservation 269: 109524.
Kettel, E.F., Thaxter, C., Oppel, S., Carryer, A., Innis, L. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. (2022) Better utilisation and transparency of bird data collected by powerline companies, Journal of Environmental Management 302: 114063.
Kettel, E.F., Yarnell, R.W., Quinn, J., Gentle, L.K.(2021) Raptors, racing pigeons and perceptions of attacks, European Journal of Wildlife Research 67: doi:10.1007/s10344-021-01513-2
Thomas, A., Cosby, B., Gooday, R., Lyons, H., Siriwardena, G., Kettel, E.F., Matthews, R., Beauchamp, K., Petr, M. and Emmett, B. (2021) Rapid adaptive modelling for policy support towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Brexit and the livestock sector in Wales, Environmental Science and Policy 125: 21 – 31.
Kettel, E.F., Lakin, I., Heydon, M.J. and Siriwardena, G.M. (2021) A comparison of breeding bird populations inside and outside of European badger Meles meles control areas, Bird Study doi:10.1080/00063657
Kettel, E.F., Woodward, I., Balmer, D. and Noble, D. (2020) Using citizen science to assess drivers of house martin breeding performance, Ibis 163 (2): 366 - 379.
Kettel, E.F., Gentle, L.K., Yarnell, R.W. and Quinn, J. (2019) Breeding performance of an apex predator, the peregrine falcon, across urban and rural landscapes, Urban Ecosystems 22 (1): 117 - 125.
Kettel, E.F., Gentle, L.K., Quinn, J. and Yarnell, R.W (2018) The reproductive success of raptors in urban landscapes: a review and meta-analysis, Journal of Ornithology 159 (1): 1 – 18.
Kettel, E.F., Gentle, L.K. and Yarnell, R.W (2016) Evidence of an urban peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) feeding young at night, Journal of Raptor Research 50 (3): 321 – 323.
Kettel, E.F., Perrow, M. R. and Reader, T. (2016) Live-trapping in the stalk zone of tall grasses as an effective way of monitoring harvest mice (Micromys minutus), European Journal of Wildlife Research 62 (2): 241 – 245.