Professor David McCracken

Davy is Professor of Agricultural Ecology at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Head of SRUC’s Hill & Mountain Research Centre which is based at the 2,200 ha Kirkton & Auchtertyre upland research farms, near Crianlarich. He conducted his PhD on the red-billed chough on the island of Islay in the late 1980s and has remained closely involved with the long term study of the population dynamics of chough on the island being conducted in collaboration with the Scottish Chough Study Group, Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen, SNH and RSPB Scotland. Davy has been investigating the impacts of Common Agricultural Policy on the biodiversity associated with what are now termed High Nature Value farming systems across Europe for over 25 years. He was also a founder member of the European Forum on Nature Conservation & Pastoralism in 1988 and worked closely with that NGO until stepping down to focus on other work commitments in 2016.