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 ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

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 Hull ...

, and in 2014 was awarded a PhD by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. She is a member of the

Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

and a

Chartered Environmentalist 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 come from no single ...

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

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. After working for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group she worked for Cobham Resource Consultants, later part of the

Scott Wilson Group Scott Wilson Group plc was a global integrated design and engineering consultancy with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Founded as a civil engineering firm in 1951, the company broadened its range of services through acquisitions. Scott ...

, as an ecological consultant, where her interests in the

white clawed crayfish ''Austropotamobius pallipes'' is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish. Distribution It is found from the easter ...

, ''Austropotamobius pallipes'' and

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

, ''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 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, ...

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 ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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 represents

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 The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan or (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodiversi ...

Steering Group for white clawed crayfish, is 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) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

, Peay has 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 is a visiting lecturer at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peay, Stephanie 1959 births Living people British ecologists 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)