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St Andrews EASTBIO PhD: Integrating Professional and Citizen-Science Biodiversity Data

Project 2234 · University of St Andrews · School of Mathematics and Statistics

Application workspace

Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

Read the research report View the recruitment source
Country or region
United Kingdom
Application deadline
2026-11-16 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
Four-year EASTBIO competition award: Home-rate fees, stipend and annual research grant; successful international awardees receive an overseas-fee-gap waiver. International recipients are capped at 30% of EASTBIO annual awards (network limit, not project quota or individual odds). 2027/28 amount unconfirmed; visa/IHS excluded.

The research opportunity

St Andrews EASTBIO PhD: Integrating Professional and Citizen-Science Biodiversity Data

Project overview

This four-year EASTBIO CASE PhD uses WildFish’s SmartRivers freshwater macroinvertebrate data to ask how observations of different quality can provide reliable evidence about river biodiversity. Professional monitoring is costly and spatially limited. Citizen-science records can expand coverage, but sampling, detection, identification and quality-control differences must be modelled rather than treated as ecological change. The University of St Andrews awards the degree; the project is hosted in Mathematics and Statistics/CREEM with Biology co-supervision, and WildFish is the conservation-charity CASE partner. The listed deadline is 16 November 2026 for October 2027 entry. The current acceptance status and exact project allocation are unconfirmed; the saved material gives no cutoff time or time zone.

Doctoral work

SmartRivers distinguishes three observation routes: professional collection and identification; volunteer collection with professional identification; and volunteer collection and identification. Quality-control samples and open regulatory monitoring can add further evidence. These channels are not interchangeable, and professional records are not automatically error-free ground truth.

The student will quantify sampling, detection and identification error; develop hierarchical Bayesian models for underlying communities; use spatial, temporal and taxonomic structure to improve inference from partially overlapping datasets; and assess when citizen-science data add useful information to regulatory monitoring and where professional sampling or quality control is most valuable. Expected outputs are new statistical methods, an applied framework and open-source software designed to generalise to other imperfect biological measurements. Generalisability and regulatory value remain to be validated.

Training includes Bayesian hierarchical modelling, computational statistics, data integration, community ecology and reproducible research, with exposure to freshwater fieldwork. WildFish’s CASE partnership adds experience in biological monitoring, citizen-science programme design and communicating evidence to environmental decision-makers. The project’s first-year scope, data linkage, independent validation and software-maintenance responsibilities need discussion. SmartRivers

School and doctoral training

St Andrews awards the degree, with the project based in the School of Mathematics and Statistics/CREEM and a Biology co-supervisor. The statistical research environment includes seminars, reading groups and research meetings; first-year SMSTC/APTS training is described in the school materials. EASTBIO’s four-year competition structure places core research, methods and professional training in years 1–2 and mainly research in years 3–4.

The CASE placement may last 3–18 months, can be split, contributes to the thesis and replaces separate PIPS. Confirm the WildFish placement location and duration, travel and accommodation support, IP/publication arrangements, registration and writing-up costs. Statistics research environment · EASTBIO CASE placements

Eligibility and application

EASTBIO normally requires a 2:1 or international equivalent; a master’s is not compulsory. The school’s general route expects mathematics, statistics or a closely related degree, and competitive applicants normally have good to very good First-class-equivalent performance. Ecology applicants should confirm subject relevance and registration eligibility with the school. The advert does not specify a programming language or require prior invertebrate-identification credentials. English-language conditions should be checked with the admissions contact.

Apply through the St Andrews online portal on the “PhD with internship” course. The EASTBIO form, EDI response ID, qualifications/transcripts and English evidence where applicable are required. Two references must use the EASTBIO template; referees may be academic or professional but cannot be this project’s supervisors. They can submit through the portal or send the form to Rachel Horn at pgrecbiology@st-andrews.ac.uk. Project questions may be sent to Fergus J Chadwick at fergusjchadwick@st-andrews.ac.uk. Only one EASTBIO project may be selected across the network; extra CVs are not considered by the programme. EASTBIO application guidance · St Andrews research application process

The deadline is 16 November 2026; no cutoff time or time zone is stated in the saved material, and current acceptance is unconfirmed. Confirm the project allocation and reference receipt before applying. Interviews were scheduled for the week of 8 March 2027, with decisions expected the week of 22 March.

Funding and living costs

This is a four-year competitive EASTBIO studentship, not salaried employment. Successful international award-holders receive Home-rate fee coverage, an overseas-fee-gap waiver, a stipend and annual research support. International applicants may receive up to 30% of EASTBIO’s awards each year. This is a network-wide allocation cap, not this project’s quota or an individual applicant’s probability; the exact project allocation and personal 2027/28 stipend remain unconfirmed. £21,805 is the UKRI minimum from October 2026, not a confirmed award amount. Visa and Immigration Health Surcharge costs are excluded. Confirm research and CASE travel budgets and plan housing and initial costs separately. EASTBIO international funding FAQ

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

Information updated: . Recheck the original notice before applying.

Show report contents

St Andrews EASTBIO PhD: Integrating Professional and Citizen-Science Biodiversity Data

Research question and application timing

This EASTBIO CASE doctorate asks when volunteer river observations add reliable information to professional monitoring. Concrete observation pathways and a conservation partner make it valuable for statistical-method applicants wanting an environmental decision problem.

The listed deadline is 16 November 2026 for the October 2027 intake. The saved materials give no cutoff time or time zone; current acceptance and the exact project allocation remain unconfirmed. EASTBIO guidance confirms the competition round and international eligibility, but a project listing does not guarantee an individual award. EASTBIO 2027 application guidance EASTBIO 2027 CASE recruitment timeline SmartRivers monitoring and database

Research work and unresolved problem

Professional river surveys are costly and limited in coverage. Citizen science expands observations, but sampling, detection, identification and quality-control differences can imitate ecological change. The advertised SmartRivers freshwater macroinvertebrate community data distinguish professional collection/professional identification, volunteer collection/professional identification, and volunteer collection/volunteer identification, supplemented by QC samples and open regulatory monitoring. These channels offer a route to separating sources of error rather than naively pooling them. SmartRivers monitoring and database Chadwick et al. (2024) LIES review

The student will quantify errors, develop hierarchical Bayesian models for latent communities, exploit spatial/temporal/taxonomic structure across partially overlapping datasets, and evaluate when citizen data strengthen regulatory assessment and where professional/QC effort matters most.

Expected outputs are new methodology, an applied framework and generalisable open-source software.

Training includes computational statistics, data integration, community ecology, reproducibility and exposure to freshwater fieldwork. Fergus Chadwick current official profile SmartRivers monitoring and database

The difficult issue is identifiability: an organism can be absent, missed or misidentified.

Professional observations are another measurement channel, not automatically error-free truth.

Sparse overlap can confound observer skill with season/location; taxonomic resolution can differ. Ask whether paired/QC data can separate these explanations, what regulatory metadata are accessible, and what independent validation and minimum viable first study are possible. SmartRivers' optional eDNA services are not advertised doctoral requirements. SmartRivers monitoring and database Chadwick et al. (2024) LIES review LIES full paper self archive

School, subject and doctoral training

St Andrews awards the degree, with the advertised host in Mathematics and Statistics/CREEM and a Biology co-supervisor. WildFish is a conservation charity/CASE partner, not another awarding university or a promised employer. CREEM supplies an ecological-statistical community; Statistics describes seminars, reading groups, research meetings and first-year SMSTC/APTS opportunities.

QS 2027 overall rank 115 is an institutional indicator, not a statistics ranking or supervision measure. Confirm the actual training/access allocation rather than infer it from institutional capacity. Statistics postgraduate research environment CREEM research areas QS St Andrews institutional profile Iain Matthews current official profile WildFish partner team

Generic School doctorates involve three to four years, a thesis/oral defence and at least two supervisors; EASTBIO's four-year award and special process govern this competition.

The saved programme description puts core research/methods/professional training in years 1–2 and research centrally in years 3–4, using a development record alongside local reviews.

CASE placements last 3–18 months, can be split, contribute to the thesis and replace separate PIPS. Confirm WildFish location/duration, travel/accommodation support, IP/publication arrangements, registration, progression and writing-up fees. EastBio training overview EastBio CASE placements School Mathematics and Statistics PGR

Supervisors and recent research evidence

Fergus J Chadwick is Lecturer in Statistics, CREEM member and NCSE Early Career Lead; Glasgow is an additional affiliate relationship. His Bayesian complex-observation work matches the question. Iain Matthews is Senior Lecturer in Biology, associated with biodiversity/fish research; do not confuse him with similarly named researchers. WildFish's Janina Gray is Head of Science and Policy/Deputy CEO, and Sam Green is Senior Freshwater Ecologist, interpreting SmartRivers data.

Methods, biology and policy expertise are complementary, while day-to-day supervision allocation and student outcomes remain unverified. Fergus Chadwick current official profile Iain Matthews current official profile WildFish partner team

Chadwick et al., 2024, LIES of omission is a review with Chadwick first/corresponding author. Selected full-text framework, citizen-science examples, conclusions and outstanding questions were read. Latency, identifiability, effort and scale unify observation problems, including observer heterogeneity and false positives.

This establishes conceptual relevance, not a validated SmartRivers estimator. Chadwick et al. (2024) LIES review LIES full paper self archive

Li, Chadwick and Swallow, 2025, Epidemics reviews approximate Bayesian inference and accuracy/computational tradeoffs; Chadwick is a co-author, Li corresponding author. Kay et al., 2026, Methods in Ecology and Evolution argues for implementation, institutional and inclusive teaching changes in quantitative ecology; Chadwick is a co-author.

For these two only official abstracts/publication metadata were read, not full methods or individual contribution statements. They indicate computational judgement and interdisciplinary interests, not three empirical river-monitoring successes or proven supervision quality. Kay et al. (2026) quantitative ecology education Li Chadwick Swallow (2025) Bayesian inference review

Funding and living costs

EASTBIO awards may go to international applicants up to 30% of the annual network total. This is a network-wide allocation cap, not the project’s quota or an individual applicant’s probability. Successful international award-holders receive an overseas-fee-gap waiver alongside Home-rate fees, a stipend and annual research support; no residual overseas-fee gap is advertised for an awardee.

The studentship is not salaried employment. £21,805 is the UKRI minimum from October 2026, not a confirmed 2027/28 amount.

Visa/IHS are excluded. Establish upfront funds, the individual award and partner-travel/research budgets before acceptance. EastBio international funding eligibility FAQ UKRI student funding support Postgraduate tuition fees and University stipend

Published St Andrews accommodation examples cover 50 weeks: standard self-catered £7,062–8,847, selected en-suite £12,256–12,739. Verify year, availability, included bills and the remaining year-round accommodation period.

A separate 2026/27 US-loan cost-of-attendance ceiling totals £22,713 excluding tuition for 52 weeks, covering rent/utilities/food, travel, books/computer and personal expenses.

It is an administrative allowance, not each student's spending. Compared with the 2026 stipend it illustrates potential pressure in a high-spending scenario, not a forecast 2027 deficit. PGR cost of attendance 2026–2027 Postgraduate accommodation fees UKRI student funding support

Applicant fit, preparation and careers

EASTBIO normally requires a 2:1 or international equivalent, with no compulsory master's; alternative postgraduate qualifications/significant relevant professional experience may be assessed. The School's general route expects a mathematics, statistics or closely related degree; competitive admission normally expects good to very good First-class-equivalent performance. Quantitative ecology applicants need individual assessment of subject relevance and registration rather than assuming the network's minimum guarantees admission.

No programming language or pre-existing invertebrate qualification is mandated in the advert. Bayesian modelling, reproducible statistical computing and explaining observation bias are useful preparation, not invented entry thresholds.

Career directions and research preparation

RSS identifies environmental-statistician roles across research and public agencies: this supports transferable pathways, not vacancy counts or guaranteed WildFish employment. EastBio international funding eligibility FAQ School Mathematics and Statistics PGR RSS environmental statistician careers

An effective preparation example would explain a case where collection effort or observer expertise changes the apparent ecological pattern, and distinguish information gained from additional records from information gained through calibration. Existing data are described as available through the partner and regulators, but open-access labels do not guarantee a complete common taxonomy, usable observer identifiers or permission to publish every linked table. Discuss software maintenance, code/data licensing, expected independent method development, and who will provide practical ecological interpretation.

These are scope questions, not requirements to arrive with a finished model. SmartRivers monitoring and database Chadwick et al. (2024) LIES review

Next actions and questions

Contact fergusjchadwick@st-andrews.ac.uk about available data and first-year scope, and Rachel Horn, pgrecbiology@st-andrews.ac.uk about registration, academic/English conditions, cutoff time and CASE support.

The advertised St Andrews portal route selects “PhD with internship” and includes the EASTBIO form, EDI response ID, qualifications/transcripts and English proof if applicable. Arrange two EASTBIO-template references, via portal invitations or Rachel, using academic or professional referees and excluding project supervisors; include original documents and official English translations where required.

Only one EASTBIO project network-wide is allowed; extra CV material is disregarded in programme assessment.

Interviews are expected the week beginning 8 March 2027 and decisions the week beginning 22 March. Confirm reference receipt before 16 November rather than assume an extension. EastBio international funding eligibility FAQ EASTBIO 2027 application guidance EASTBIO 2027 CASE recruitment timeline University research application process

Known publication records

LIES of omission: 2024 volume 39(4):368–380, with a 2023 online version; these are the same review. Kay et al.: Methods in Ecology and Evolution, early view 8 September 2026, nine pages, a viewpoint on education. Li, Chadwick and Swallow: Epidemics 53:100855, online 23 September 2025 and issue 1 December. These records refer to the works assessed above, with no additional empirical SmartRivers results.

Evidence and Sources

Current acceptance status and the exact project allocation remain unconfirmed. The paper evidence scopes are stated individually above: selected full-text sections for the LIES review and abstracts/publication metadata for the other two papers; none establishes empirical SmartRivers validation.

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

Explore opportunities with related research or the same country, prioritising similar funding where relevant. Recheck each notice before applying.

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