ALFIE

ALFIE is funded under the EPA Research Call 2025, which involves a partnership with Met Éireann, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The ALFIE project will provide knowledge and understanding on the key policies and practices currently applied to the quantification of habitat fragmentation on the island of Ireland, with the development of fragmentation and connectivity metrics and maps enabling spatial prioritisation of areas for conservation and restoration measures in Ireland.

It has the following aims:

• Produce the first island wide high-resolution analyses of ecosystem fragmentation, providing a detailed understanding of the existing ecological networks across the diverse Irish landscape.
• Evaluate connectivity, using appropriate structural and functional metrics, in the existing Irish ecological network and subsequently prioritise areas for conservation measures.
• Assess multi-species connectivity models, enabling a functional assessment of connectivity to be attained using species with varying ecological requirements.
• Advance methods to incorporate connectivity data into current planning policy, achieving maximum benefits for nature and society.

Dr Heather T. Lally (ATU, Principal Investigator) is a senior lecturer & researcher in Freshwater Ecology and Biology at ATU Galway city and holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Galway. Dr Lally has expertise in ecological restoration, habitat and connectivity mapping, and application of Fragstats and InVEST models. 

Dr Conor Graham (ATU) is a lecturer and researcher in ecology and environmental sciences based in MFRC, ATU Galway city. He has expertise in statistics, traceability, water quality analyses, invertebrate and fish ecology, trophic ecology and in analytical methods such as stable isotopes and elemental analyses. 

Dr Colin Guilfoyle (ATU) has a PhD  in restoration ecology and landscape management at ATU Galway city. His PhD focussed on utilising biological survey data to form the basis for the development of landscape restoration plans for Wild Nephin National Park. 

Dr Julien Carlier (ACRES Breifne CP) is deputy manager of the ACRES Breifne Cooperation Project under DAFM’s Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme. With over nine years’ experience, he specialises in High Nature Value farmland and forest systems, ecosystem services modelling and remote sensing, policy development, and sustainable land use. His PhD focussed on Greenway ecological connectivity, monitoring and landscape characterisation. 

Dr Liam Heaphy (ICHEC) is a research fellow at the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) in the University of Galway. He has a PhD in Architecture from the University of Manchester, and his research is on environmental sustainability and the built environment. 

22nd June 2026

Kick-off steering group meeting and first developments towards forming a stakeholder working group!