Dr Merryl Gelling (Parle-Gelling)
Alumni
I joined WildCRU in 1999 as a volunteer and then joined the research team investigating the risk to cattle from bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in wildlife. Since then I have worked on and developed various subsidiary projects involving welfare implications associated with trapping and handling mammals. I was awarded a Royal Society summer studentship to investigate parasite and disease threats to water vole conservation, before beginning work on the water vole recovery programme, within which I conducted my DPhil research ‘Health and Welfare implications of Reintroductions; Lessons from Small Mammals’. Since completing my doctorate I have set up my own Ecological Consultancy specialising in protected British mammals, and the Oxfordshire Mammal Group. I now undertake empirical research to resolve practical issues with regard to protected species in the UK, most recently working on a project to understand the effects of vegetation removal on water vole movements, and the resultant implications for development work.
Selected Publications
Gelling M, Zochowski WJ, Mathews F, Johnson A, Palmer MF, Macdonald DW. (2015). Leptospirosis acquisition following the reintroduction of wildlife. Veterinary Record. 177: 17 440.
Macdonald DW, Harrington LA, Gelling M, Tattersall FH & Tew T. (2015). Effects of Farming Practice on Small Mammals. In DW Macdonald & RE Feber (Eds.) Wildlife Conservation on Farmland. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Moorhouse TP, Gelling M, Macdonald DW (2015). Water Vole Restoration in the Upper Thames. In DW Macdonald & RE Feber (Eds.) Wildlife Conservation on Farmland. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Gelling M & Grogan A (2015). Animal Welfare Implications of Mitigation Schemes. In Practice – Bulletin of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. 88: 14-18.
Macdonald DW, Moorhouse TP & Gelling M. (2014). The State of British Mammals: A Focus on Disease. Peoples Trust for Endangered Species.
Harrington LA, Moehrenschlager A, Gelling M, Hughes J, Atkinson R, Macdonald DW. (2013) Welfare and Ethics in Animal Reintroductions – conflicting and complementary ethics that can benefit conservation. Conservation Biology. 27(3):486-500.
Gelling, M, Johnson, PJ, Moorhouse, TP, Macdonald, DW. (2012) Measuring animal welfare within a reintroduction: an assessment of different indices of stress in water voles Arvicola amphibius. PLoS ONE. 7(7): e41081. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0041081.
Harrington LA, Gelling M, Simpson V, Harrington A, and Macdonald DW (2012) Notes on the health status of free-living, non-native, American mink, Neovison vison, in southern England. European Journal of Wildlife Research 58, 875 – 880.
Gelling M, Macdonald DW, Telfer S, Jones T, Bown K, Birtles R, Mathews F. (2012) Parasites and pathogens in wild populations of water voles (Arvicola amphibius) in the UK. European Journal of Wildlife Research 58, 615 – 619.
Strachan R., Moorhouse TP & Gelling M. (2011). The Water Vole Conservation Handbook. 3rd Edition. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
Gelling M, Montes I, Moorhouse TP, Macdonald DW (2010) Captive housing during water vole (Arvicola terrestris) reintroduction: does short-term social stress impact on welfare? PLoS ONE 5(3): e9791. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0009791.
Moorhouse TP, Gelling M, Macdonald DW (2009) Effects of habitat quality upon reintroduction success in water voles: Evidence from a replicated experiment. Biological Conservation 142: 53 – 60.
Gelling M, McLaren G, Mathews F, Mian R, Macdonald DW (2009) The impact of trapping and handling on Leukocyte Coping Capacity in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Animal Welfare 18: 1 – 7.
Moorhouse TP, Gelling M, Macdonald DW (2008) Effects of forage availability on growth and maturation rates in water voles. Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 1288 – 1295.
Gelling M, Macdonald DW, Mathews F (2007) Are hedgerows the route to increased farmland small mammal density? Use of hedgerows in British pastoral habitats. Landscape Ecology 22: 1019 – 1032.
Moorhouse TP, Gelling M, McLaren GW, Mian R, Macdonald DW (2007) Physiological consequences of captive conditions in water voles (Arvicola terrestris). Journal of Zoology 271: 19 – 26
Mathews F, Moro D, Strachan R, Gelling M, Buller N (2006) Health surveillance in wildlife reintroductions. Biological Conservation 131: 338 – 347.
Mathews F, Macdonald DW, Taylor GM, Gelling M, Norman RA, et al. (2006) Bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in British farmland wildlife: the importance to agriculture. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 273: 357 – 365.
Mathews F, Orros M, McLaren G, Gelling M, Foster R (2005) Keeping fit on the ark: assessing the suitability of captive-bred animals for release. Biological Conservation 121: 569 – 577.
McLaren GW, Mathews F, Fell R, Gelling M, Macdonald DW (2004) Body weight change as a measure of stress: a practical test. Animal Welfare 13: 337 – 341.
