Senior Research Ecologist
Role and responsibilities
Based in BTO Scotland, Blaise is a Senior Research Ecologist in the Framing Futures team and co-leads a group that maintains oversight in this work area, particularly related to the impacts of, and responses to climate change. Blaise carries out ecological research, primarily on climate change impacts and adaptation.
Interests
Recent projects have included multi-taxa modelling of the impact of climate change on UK biodiversity, and the impacts of phenological mismatch and insect abundance on swallow productivity and populations. She was also responsible for a project to engage school children in collecting extensive UK-wide data on soil invertebrates and birds.
Much of her work involves combining BTO's large-scale datasets with data from other national monitoring schemes and she recently contributed to the 2023 global review: Climate change and migratory species: a review of impacts, conservation actions, indicators and ecosystem services. This report was presented by the UK government at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference.
Blaise has a broad interest in conservation ecology. In particular, she is interested in disentangling the impact of climate and land-use factors on populations to identify vulnerable species and populations, drivers of change and to predict future changes. This encompasses examining shifting species interactions, such as bird-insect interactions.
Blaise is also interested in research into the best use of conservation practices such as agri-environmental schemes and habitat protection and restoration.
Qualifications
- PhD Insect Conservation on Created Fenland, Anglia Ruskin University 2011
- BA Hons Natural Sciences (specialising in Ecology), Cambridge University 2007
Recent BTO publications
- Montràs-Janer, T., Suggitt, A.J., Fox, R., Jönsson, M., Martay, B., Roy, D.B., Walker, K.J. & Auffret, A.G. 2024. Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short-and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa. Nature Ecology & Evolution 8: 739-751 doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02326-7
- Brighton, C.H., Massimino, D., Boersch-Supan, P., Barnes, A.E., Martay, B., Bowler, D.E., Hoskins, H.M.J. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2024. The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition. Biological Conservation 292: doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110553
- Williams, J.M., Scott, S.E., Galbraith, C.A., Martay, B., Macphie, K.H., Hereward, H.F.R., Barton, M.G., Bowgen, K.M., Pearce-Higgins, J.W. & Robinson, R.A. 2023. Climate change and migratory species: a review of impacts, conservation actions, indicators and ecosystem services..
- Martay, B., Leech, D.I., Shortall, C.R., Bell, J.R., Thackeray, S.J., Hemming, D.L. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W 2023. Aerial insect biomass, but not phenological mismatch, is associated with chick survival of an insectivorous bird. Ibis 165: 790-807 doi:10.1111/ibi.13190
- Suggitt, A.J., Wheatley, C.J., Aucott, P., Beale, C.M., Fox, R., Hill, J.K., Isaac, N.J.B., Martay, B., Southall, H., Thomas, C.D., Walker, K.J. & Auffret , A.G. 2023. Linking climate warming and land conversion to species’ range changes across Great Britain. Nature Communications 14: doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42475-0
- Martay, B., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Harris, S.J. & Gillings, S. 2022. Breeding ground temperature rises, more than habitat change, are associated with spatially variable population trends in two species of migratory bird. Ibis 165: 34-54 doi:10.1111/ibi.13101
- Barnes, A.E., Davies, J.G., Martay, B., Boersch-Supan, P. H., Harris, S.J., Noble, D.G., Pearce-Higgins, J.W. & Robinson, R.A. 2022. Rare and declining bird species benefit most from designating protected areas for conservation in the UK. Nature Ecology & Evolution 7: 92-101 doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01927-4
- Martay, B. & Noble, D. 2022. Scoping the feasibility of developments to the Terrestrial Bird Indicator for Scotland – urban, farmland and wetland indicators. NatureScot Research Report 1300:
- Darvill, B., Harris, S.J., Martay, B., Wilson, M. & Gillings, S. 2020. Delivering robust population trends for Scotland's widespread breeding birds. Scottish Birds 40: 304.
- Martay, B. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2020. Opening a can of worms: Can the availability of soil invertebrates be indicated by birds?. Ecological Indicators 113: doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106222
- Martay, B. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2018. Using data from schools to model variation in soil invertebrates across the UK: The importance of weather, climate, season and habitat. Pedobiologia 67: 9. doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2018.01.002
- Martay, B., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Harris, S.J. & Gillings, S. 2018. Monitoring landscape-scale environmental changes with citizen scientists: Twenty years of land use change in Great Britain. Journal for Nature Conservation 44: 42. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2018.03.001
- Elston, D.A., Brewer, M.J., Martay, B., Johnston, A., Henrys, P.A., Bell, J.R., Harrington, R., Monteith, D., Brereton, T.M., Boughey, K.L., Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2017. A New Approach to Modelling the Relationship Between Annual Population Abundance Indices and Weather Data. Journal of Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Statistics 19. doi:10.1007/s13253-017-0287-4
- Ainsworth, G., Calladine, J., Martay, B., Park, K., Redpath, S., Wernham, C., Wilson, M. & Young, J. 2016. Understanding Predation. A review bringing together natural science and local knowledge of recent wild bird population changes and their drivers in Scotland. Moorland Forum
- Martay, B., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Gillings, S. & Baillie, S.R. 2016. An assessment of the potential benefits of additional stratification of BBS squares by habitat and accessibility to enhance the monitoring of rare species and habitats.. BTO Research Report 677:
Other publications
Martay, B., Robertshaw, T., Doberski, J. & Thomas, A. 2014. Does dispersal limit the re-colonisation of created fenland by a wetland beetle Carabus granulatus? An assessment using direct measurements of dispersal and genetics. Restoration Ecology 22, 590-597.
Martay, B., Hughes, F.M.R. & Doberski, J. 2012. A comparison of created and ancient fenland using ground beetles as a measure of conservation value. Insect conservation and diversity 5, 251-263.