Althea Davies

Dr. Althea Davies serves as Senior Lecturer and Director of Impact at the School of Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews. She is actively affiliated with the Centre for Energy Ethics, Geographies of Sustainability research group, and the Environmental Change Research Group.

Her research focuses on long-term human-environment interactions, particularly examining biodiversity conservation through the lens of biocultural legacies. Key research areas include tracking large herbivores as ecosystem drivers, valuing intact tropical peatlands, and exploring textiles as biocultural heritage. She co-chairs the British Ecological Society Palaeoecology Group and founded the Palaeoenvironmental and Archaeological Sciences Scotland (PALASS) Network to connect researchers working on Scottish environments.

Dr. Davies' publication record shows strong interdisciplinary work spanning paleoecology, conservation biology, and environmental management. Her recent articles demonstrate expertise in integrating long-term ecological data with contemporary conservation challenges, particularly in peatland ecosystems and human-wildlife interactions.

• British Ecological Society Outreach Grant (2020)

She actively supervises postgraduate research students and welcomes PhD candidates interested in Holocene grazing dynamics, biocultural landscapes, and integration of paleo-ecological timeseries. Her teaching portfolio includes second-year environmental geography (GG2014), biodiversity and sustainable development (SD2006), and third-year research methods courses. She also serves as the School's study abroad officer and contributes to the MSc Sustainable Development program.

Dr. Davies leads multiple research projects focused on peatland conservation in the Peruvian Amazon, biocultural heritage in Amazonia, and climate adaptation strategies in Peru and Guatemala. Her work directly contributes to several UN Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental sustainability.