Dr Michael Kennedy

Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science

School of Energy, Constrution and Environment
Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing

Email: michael.kennedy@coventry.ac.uk
LinkedIn Profile

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, teaching across all undergraduate levels, and at postgraduate level, in geography and environmental science related subjects (including biodiversity and conservation, field skills in geography, and pollution management), I also act as Academic Personal Tutor for years 1-3.

I believe in pursuing research-led teaching, and my ongoing research involves partners in Southern Africa and Central America. I am also currently involved in setting up international links for both research and teaching purposes. In addition, I am co-lead in the Environment and Water Research cluster (EWRG) within the school, and I also act as placement tutor, overseeing placements for geography and disaster management related degree courses within the faculty. At Coventry I have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice in Higher Education (PgCAPHE), and have become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Qualifications

• PhD: Predicting the impact of hydrological Change on Wetland Vegetation. Glasgow University, 2001

• MRes: Science of the Environment. Lancaster University, 1997
• BSc (Hons): Plant Biology. University of Wales, Bangor, 1995

Academic interests

• Applied Vegetation Ecology
• Eco-hydrology
• Habitat Management
• Biomonitoring
• Water Quality
• Sustainable Development

Research

My main research focuses on applied freshwater ecology, but my interests extend to terrestrial plant ecology and habitat management, hydrology, catchment management, and farmland biodiversity.  Since 2005, much of my research work has been based in Zambia (including involvement in Darwin Initiative and EU-ACP funded projects), focussing upon issues of land use management and the development of methods for sustainable river management. Currently, whilst continuing collaboration within Zambia, I am developing institutional and research links within Costa Rica.

Outputs and publications

• Kennedy, M., Lang, P., Tapia Grimaldo, J., Varandas Martins, S., Bruce, A., Moore, I., Taubert, R., Macleod-Nolan, C., McWaters, S., Briggs, J., Lowe, S., Saili, K., Sichingabula, H., Dallas, H., Morrison, S., Franceschini, C., Willems, F., Bottino, F., and Murphy, K. J. (2017) ‘Niche-breadth of freshwater macrophytes occurring in tropical southern African rivers predicts species global latitudinal range’. Aquatic Botany 136, 21-30.
• Kennedy, M., Racey, P., Iason, G., Chama, L., and Soulsby, C. (2016) 'Conceptualising the hydrology of tropical wetlands to aid habitat management in northern Zambia'. In Charlesworth, S. (Ed). Proceedings of the Water Efficiency Conference 2016, 'Water Efficiency Conference'. Held 7-9 September 2016 in Coventry, U.K. WATEF Network/University of Bath, 180-185.
• Tapia Grimaldo, J., Bini, L.M., Landeiro, V.L., O’Hare, M.T., Caffrey, J., Spink, A., Varandas Martins, S., Kennedy, M.P., and Murphy, K.J. (2016) ‘Spatial and environmental drivers of macrophyte diversity and community composition in temperate and tropical calcareous rivers’. Aquatic Botany 132, 49–61.
• Kennedy, M.P., Lang, P., Tapia Grimaldo, J., Varandas Martins, S., Bruce, A., Lowe, S., Dallas, H., Davidson, T.A., Sichingabula, H., Briggs, J., and Murphy, K.J. (2016) ‘The Zambian Macrophyte Trophic Ranking scheme, ZMTR: a new biomonitoring protocol to assess the trophic status of tropical southern African rivers’. Aquatic Botany 131, 15-27.
• Kennedy, M.P., Lang, P., Tapia Grimaldo, J., Varandas Martins, S., Bruce, A., Hastie, A., Lowe, S., Ali, M.M., Dallas, H., Briggs, J., Sichingabula, H., and Murphy, K.J. (2015) ‘Environmental drivers of aquatic macrophyte communities in southern tropical African river systems: Zambia as a case study’. Aquatic Botany 124, 19–28.

Teaching

• 114GED: Field and Higher Education Skills
• 136GED: A sustainable Britain?
• 240EC: Study Abroad Year
• 246GED: Scientific Techniques for Environmental Research
• 250EC: Professional Training
• 311GED: International Fieldwork (Gambia)
• 335GED: Biodiversity and Conservation (module leader)
• 341GED: GED Project
• 347GED: Environmental Pollution and Management (module leader)
• M58GED: Ecological Management and Assessment
• M70GED: Project

Areas of expertise

• Vegetation sampling
• Plant identification
• Aquatic Macro-invertebrate identification (family level)
• Biodiversity assessment
• Tropical fieldwork
• River gauging
• Water quality and tracer analysis
• Multivariate data analysis
• Stakeholder engagement and training