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Lab Website: Applied Ecology Unit

Research Interests

• The scientific management of agricultural and forest ecosystems for nature conservation
• Terrestrial invertebrates as indicators of a range of habitats including woodland, turloughs, wet grasslands, machair and peatlands
• Attitudes of the farming community to nature conservation and environmental schemes
• Biological control research
• Director of the Applied Ecology Unit, Centre for Environmental Science, NUI Galway
• Co-director of the Turlough Research Group
• Director of the BSc degree programme in Environmental Science

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Mc Donnell, R.J., Paine, T.D. and Gormally, M.J. (in press) An investigation of trail-following behaviour in the malacophagous larvae of the sciomyzid flies Sepedon spinipes spinipes and Dictya montana. Journal of Insect Behaviour.
• Mc Donnell, R.J., Paine, T.D., Orth, R.E. and Gormally, M.J. (in press) Life history and biocontrol potential of Dictya montana Steyskal, 1954 (Sciomyzidae), a snail-killing fly. Pan Pacific Entomologist.
• Moran, J, Kelly, S, Sheehy Skeffington, M and Gormally, M. (in press) Temporal and spatial variation in the hydrological regime of Skealoghan turlough, Ireland: Production of a diverse vegetation mosaic. Journal of Applied Vegetation Science.
• Moran, J, Sheehy Skeffington, M and Gormally, M. (in press) The influence of the hydrological regime, soils and management on the plant community composition and species richness of Skealoghan turlough, Ireland. Journal of Applied Vegetation Science.
• Regan, E.C., Sheehy Skeffington, M. and Gormally, M.J. (in press) Wetland plant communities of turloughs in the west of Ireland in relation to environmental factors. Aquatic Botany.
• Sheehy Skeffington, M. and Gormally M. (in press) Turloughs: a mosaic of biodiversity and management systems unique to Ireland. Acta Carsologica.
• Sheehy Skeffington, M. and Gormally M. (in press) Turloughs: a mosaic of biodiversity and management systems unique to Ireland. Krzywinski, K. O’Connell M. and Küster H. Cultural landscapes of Europe, Fields of Demeter, Haunts of Pan. Aschenbeck & Holstein Verlag, Delmenhorst.

2002 - 2007

• Mc Donnell, R.J. and Gormally, M.J. (2007) Thermal effects on the egg stage of four sciomyzids with reference to phenology and biocontrol potential. Journal of Applied Entomology : 131 (2) : 65-70.
• Visser, M, Moran, J, Regan, E, Gormally, M and Sheehy Skeffington, M. (2007) The Irish agri-environment: How turlough users and non-users view converging EU agendas of Natura 2000 and CAP. Land Use Policy: 24: 362-373.
• Coroi, M., Sheehy Skeffington, M., Giller, P., Gormally, M., O’Donovan, G., (2006). Using GIS in the mapping and analysis of landscape and vegetation patterns along streams in southern Ireland. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 106B(3): 287-300.
• Sheehy Skeffington, M. Moran J., O Connor Á., Regan E., Coxon, C. E., Scott, N. E., and Gormally, M. (2006) Turloughs – Ireland’s unique wetland habitat. Biological Conservation 133(3): 265-290.
• Visser, M, Regan, E, Moran, J, Gormally, M and Sheehy Skeffington, M. (2006) The rise and fall of turlough typologies: a call for a continuum concept.  Wetlands 26 (3): 745-764.
• Williams, C., Doherty, O. and Gormally, M. (2006) Gasterostueus aculeatus L.  and Pungitius pungitius (L.) – two species of stickleback from turloughs in Cos Mayo and Roscommon. Irish Naturalists Journal: 28(7): 276-279.
• Mc Donnell, R J, Knutson, L V, Vala, J C, Abercrombie, J, Henry, P Y and Gormally, M  (2005) Direct evidence of predation by aquatic, predatory Sciomyzidae (Diptera: Acalyptrata) on freshwater snails from natural populations. Entomologists Monthly Magazine, 141:  49-56.
• Mc Donnell, R J, Mulkeen, C J and Gormally, M J. (2005) Sexual dimorphism and the impact of temperature on the pupal and adult stages of Sepedon spinipes spinipes (Scopoli) (Diptera: Sciomyzidae), a potential biological control agent of fascioliasis. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 115: 291-301.
• Sheehy Skeffington, M. and Gormally, M. (2005) Turloughs, west of Ireland. Seven web pages in Cultbase, Cultural Landscape Database for Europe. Atlantic central. Archived in August 2005. http://pan.cultland.org/cultbase/?document_id="264
• O’ Connor, Á, Bradish, S, Reed, T, Moran, J, Regan, E, Visser, M, Gormally, M and Sheehy Skeffington, M. (2004) A comparison of the efficacy of pond-net and box sampling methods in turloughs – Irish ephemeral aquatic systems.  Hydrobiologia: 524: 133-144.
• Coroi, M, Sheehy Skeffington, M, Giller, P, Smith, C, Gormally, M and O’Donovan, G. (2004) Vegetation diversity and stand structure in streamside forests in the south of Ireland. Forest Ecology and Management, 202, 39-57.
• Mc Donnell, R J, Gormally, M J and Knutson, L V (2003) A second record of Renocera stroblii Hendel (Diptera:Sciomyzidae) in Ireland with a key to the Irish species of the genus. Irish Naturalists Journal, 27 (6): 232-233.
• Ryder, C, Mc Donnell, R J, Gormally, M J and Knutson, L (2003) Colobaea distincta (Meigen): a sciomyzid (Diptera) new to Ireland with a key to the Irish species of the genus. Irish Naturalists Journal, 27 (5): 184-186.
• Poole, A, Gormally, M and Sheehy Skeffington, M (2003) The flora and carabid beetle fauna of a mature and regenerating semi-natural oak woodland in south-east Ireland. Forest Ecology and Management, 177: 207-220.
• Mullen, K, Fahy, O and Gormally, M (2003) Ground flora and associated arthropod communities of forest road edges in Connemara, Ireland. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12(1): 87-101.
• Ní Bhriain, B, Gormally, M and Sheehy Skeffington, M (2003) Changes in land use practices at two turloughs, on the east Burren limestones, Co. Galway, with reference to nature conservation. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 103B (3): 169-176.
• Moran, J, Gormally, M J and Sheehy Skeffington, M (2003) Records of Panagaeus crux-major (Linnaeus) and Pterostichus aterrimus (Herbst) recorded on turloughs in Counties Clare and Mayo. Irish Naturalists Journal: 27(8): 309-311.
• Ryder, C, Moran, J, Mc Donnell, R J and Gormally, M J. (2003) Conservation implications of grazing practices on the plant and dipteran communities of a turlough in Co. Mayo, Ireland. Biodiversity and Conservation, 14:  187-204.
• Mc Donnell, R J, Gormally, M J and Knutson, L V. (2003) Galba truncatula (Müller), the liver fluke snail: confirmed as alternate host of Pherbellia schoenherri schoenherri (Fallén) in the wild (Diptera: Sciomyzidae). Dipterist Digest: 10: 69-71.
• Mc Donnell, R J, Fahy, O L and Gormally, M J (2002) Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and plant communities of Atlantic blanket bog in Connemara. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeography Society, 26: 83-105.
• Ní Bhriain, B, Sheehy Skeffington, M and Gormally, M (2002) Conservation implications of land use practices on the plant and carabid beetle communities of two turloughs in Co. Galway, Ireland. Biological Conservation, 105: 81-92.
• O’Sullivan, C M and Gormally, M J (2002) A comparison of ground beetle (Carabidae: Coleoptera) communities in an organic and conventional potato crop. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 20: 99-110.
• Aughney, T and Gormally, M (2002) The nature conservation of lowland farm habitats on REPS and non-REPS farms in County Galway and the use of traditional farm methods for habitat management under the rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS). Tearmann: Irish Journal of Agri-Environmental Research, 2: 1-14.