Thomas Foxley
Postdoctoral Researcher
Email: tf289@bath.ac.uk
I’ve been working in bat conservation since 2011, as a field assistant for the University of Bristol, as a consultant ecologist in the UK and on a large conservation project in Belize. I started my PhD at the University of the West of England in 2020, part-funded by Natural England. The aim of my PhD was to build a detailed picture of how greater horseshoe bats use the landscape in Somerset to inform local development decisions. I used spatial modelling, acoustic and telemetry studies to map areas of important habitat and understand how they connect. The resulting maps are being used by local authorities to
minimise the impact of new development on bats in Somerset and to plan effective mitigation measures.
I am currently working on a three year NERC-funded project investigating population level effects of lighting on lesser horseshoe bats. The project is a collaboration between the University of Bath, the University of Exeter and the University of the West of England. We're taking a multidisciplinary approach, investigating the effect of lighting on bats at a genetic, hormonal, behavioural and population level. Our findings will be used to inform national guidance for bats and artificial lighting.