Ms Aedín McAdams

Research interests

My research interests are in conservation biology. With the rate of biodiversity loss and habitat degradation, it is imperative that we understand not only the key drivers, but the best course of action to restore, improve and conserve what we have left. My particular focus is on restoration ecology. Ecological habitats are dynamic, affected by biotic and abiotic factors directly and indirectly. We need to further understand the magnitude and rate of change these pressures put on ecosystems, while trying to counteract them, to ensure a harmonious relationship between nature and humans.

PhD Research

My research involves testing the efficacy of top-down irrigation to improve and stabilise the hydrology of a calcareous fen in Ireland. This multidisciplinary project integrates hydrology, ecology and malacology to restore a fen to its historical condition before human mediated habitat degradation caused the extirpation of species. The focus of this restoration is to increase hydrological stability within the fen for the reintroduction of a relic snail species, Vertigo geyeri (Lindholm, 1925), known also as the Geyer’s Whorl snail. This project is the first granted in Ireland under the EU Habitats Directive Article 6(4) of Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest (IROPI), whereby habitat degradation is mitigated by irrigation until such a time that a new water supply and treatment plant can be obtained. Alongside this reintroduction, I aim to produce a new methodology for quantifying habitat quality and condition for V. geyeri, including a groundwater model of the flow of water through the system from irrigation, weather events and phreatic groundwater.