Stephanie Peay (born 1959) is a British ecologist and crayfish researcher.

Life and work

Peay studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, and in 2014 was awarded a PhD by the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She is a member of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and a

Chartered Environmentalist A Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) is a professional qualification in the United Kingdom that is awarded by the Society for the Environment through its 24 licensed member organisations (listed below). Chartered Environmentalists do not come fr ...

. In her early professional career, in 1984, she compiled the first draft of the ancient woodland inventory for

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. After working for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group she worked for Cobham Resource Consultants, later part of the Scott Wilson Group, as an ecological consultant, where her interests in the white clawed crayfish, ''Austropotamobius pallipes'' and

signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a species of crayfish indigenous to North America. Introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague ...

, ''Pacifastacus leniusculus'' began. As an independent crayfish researcher her research has concentrated on the protection of the UK native white clawed crayfish and restricting the invasion of the alien signal crayfish. Peay is a leading proponent of crayfish conservation and management in Britain and has produced much of the guidance on crayfish used by British ecologists and managers on survey and monitoring methods, restoration of habitat, mitigation during works on waterbodies, and, latterly, on "ark sites" to safeguard white-clawed crayfish. She also provides advice and training for organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts,

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

Scottish Natural Heritage NatureScot () is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for Scotland’s natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and scenic diversity. It advises the Scottish Government on nature conservati ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and others. As invading signal crayfish are a major threat to native crayfish, both in Britain and in Europe, Peay has studied the effects of signal crayfish on white clawed crayfish and their environment, particularly on native fish stocks, and has researched control and eradication methods. She represented

The Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2, ...

on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group for white clawed crayfish, was a board member of the International Association of Astacology and has contributed to the European CRAYNET programme. In her employment as Associate Director, Ecology with

Aecom AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

, Peay had considerable experience of ecological surveys, ecological assessment and management in a range of habitats in the UK on many types of projects, notably in water resources, development roads and airports. She was a visiting lecturer at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peay, Stephanie 1959 births Living people British ecologists British women ecologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Hull Academics of the University of Leeds Place of birth missing (living people)