Developing Your Dissertation Ideas
If you are seeking to deliver an impactful dissertation topic, with direct relevance to environmental policy makers or, simply looking for inspiration for your final year project, you can search for ideas below.
You can search the research questions that have been directly submitted to us, or browse other collections of research ideas from partner organisation such as Natural Resources Wales and Climate Cymru.
If you do find a question of relevance and decide to address it through your dissertation, we would really like to know about it. Please fill out the form that can be found here.
[Enter keyword and press ‘search’ or the return key]
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What is driving the decline of Kittiwake in Wales?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
To inform our understanding of and advice on building resilient marine ecosystems. Kittiwake is an iconic seabird in Wales and a feature of a number of SSSIs and Skomer and Skokholm and the Seas off Pembrokeshire SPA. According to the most recent results from the seabird census there has been a 40% decline in Kittiwake populations in Wales. The main theory is that it is climate change driven but Kittiwakes eat similar prey species to auks which have doubled their population over the last 15-20 years. A project is needed to collate existing information as well as setting up various monitoring e.g. camera traps, which could give information about numerous colonies around Wales
Keywords (discipline, other): Marine
Coastal Margins
Ecosystem resilience
Biodiversity
Climate change
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is good condition for improved grassland and arable land? How could it be measured?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
To be able to measure progress towards sustainable management of natural resources we need to understand good condition of productive land and to be able to measure it.
Keywords (discipline, other): Enclosed farmland
Ecosystem resilience
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is restricting the recovery of arctic-alpine plants? Have there been genetic bottlenecks, is there a need to boost or migrate populations, or do we need land management changes?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Wales supports a distinctive suite of arctic-alpine flora and fauna. While threatened by climate change, its resilience and ability to resist or respond to change is compromised by past and present landuse, pollution, and isolation. Ecological studies of these species are required to determine the key factors to address.
Keywords (discipline, other): Mountains, moorland, and heath
Biodiversity
Ecosystem resilience
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the area of crops grown for biomass or biofuel?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
These crops are part of the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for combating climate change. There is currently no reliable baseline of their extent.
Keywords (discipline, other): Enclosed farmland
Energy
Ecosystem resilience
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the baseline biodiversity within urban areas of Wales? And what ecosystem services does urban biodiversity provide?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
To understand the ecosystem services provided by urban ecosystems we need to know the baseline levels of biodiversity. Biodiversity in urban ecosystems is often overlooked. Reliable and replicable estimates are needed in place of acedotal information to provide us with the evidence to enhance or maintain biodiversity within our urban ecosystems. Understanding this at all levels of biodiversity (ecosystem, species, genetic) would be desirable.
Keywords (discipline, other): Urban
Ecosystem resilience
Biodiversity
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the baseline extent of traditional orchards, parkland, hedgerows, veteran trees and arable plant assemblages?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Stocks of natural resources are a basic measure of sustainable management of natural resources. The majority of the habitat extent data is based on partial surveys such as for parkland, traditional orchards, extensive arable, hedgerows, out of date surveys such as for improved and semi-improved grassland or has no baseline extend data at all such as for wood pasture, veteran trees.
Keywords (discipline, other): Enclosed farmland
Woodland
Urban
Biodiversity
Land use and soil
Ecosystem resilience
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the cause of the decline in salmon stocks?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Restoration of freshwater ecosystems is key to improving their resilience to multiple pressures and addressing the climate and nature emergencies. Knowledge and tools are required to facilitate sucessful and cost effective ecosystem restoration.
Keywords (discipline, other): Freshwater
Biodiversity
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the cause of the recent decline in otter populations across Wales?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Outdated or absent data and associated analyses hinders the assessment of the current extent, condition and trends of our freshwater ecosystems.
Keywords (discipline, other): Freshwater
Biodiversity
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the change in extent of permeable surfaces and surface water detention or retention features in Wales’s urban areas? Are our current permeable surfaces and surface water detention or retention features in Wales’s urban areas able to cope under future climate change rainfall predictions?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Increases in the extent of sealed surfaces in an urban area will lead to an increase in the volume of storm water run off, and likely increase in flood risk. Decreases in the extent of permeable surfaces and detention/retention features will reduce the ability of soil moisture to replenish after rainfall and may lead to increased susceptibility to drought.
Keywords (discipline, other): Urban
Land use and soil
Climate change
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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What is the condition of coastal margins habitats within protected sites where there is no up to date data?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Condition is a basic measure of stocks of natural resources and resilience.
Keywords (discipline, other): Coastal margins
Land use and soil
Ecosystem resilience
Climate change
Biodiversity
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
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