Dr Elizabeth Chadwick – Otter Project Manager

Having always had an interest in wildlife and the outdoors, I took a biology degree at Cardiff University, during which I worked for a year as a research assistant at the Llysdinam Field Centre in Wales. There, I assisted with research in many areas of ecology and decided that I wanted to follow a career in ecological research.

Following my degree, I completed a doctorate, studying the effects of climate on amphibian breeding and hibernation – something which seems increasingly important with regard to our changing climate.

Since then I have been working as a post-doctoral research associate, managing the Cardiff University Otter Project.

Otters are extremely elusive, so it is difficult to study them in the wild. By collecting and studying carcasses from road traffic accidents we can gain an enormous amount of information. We find out about their diet, pollutants, genetics, disease, injuries, parasites and much more which we would otherwise know very little about.

This information can be used to help plan their conservation; while information about where otters are killed can be used to plan mitigation on roads.

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