Biography

My research concentrates on the population, physiological and evolutionary ecology of seabirds, particularly albatrosses and petrels. Currently I work within the BAS Core Science Ecosystems programme. Much of this work is collaborative, involving researchers world-wide, and focuses on topics that include the physiological limits to resource allocation in albatrosses, food web structure and interactions using stable isotopes, pollutant dynamics, population genetic structure and taxonomy, development of tracking devices, hormones and allocation of reproductive effort, genetic basis of plumage polymorphism, comparative breeding biology, census methodologies, seabird distribution and habitat preferences, and seabird-fisheries interactions.

My main field site is Bird Island, South Georgia, which holds an unusually high diversity and abundance of seabirds suitable for a wide variety of comparative studies. BAS has carried out long-term population studies of albatrosses and petrels at Bird Island dating back to early 1960s (for wandering albatross), 1970s (grey-headed and black-browed albatrosses) and 1990s (light-mantled sooty albatrosses and giant petrels). We also carry out a variety of dedicated studies, integrating conventional observational techniques with the latest in tracking and logging technology, and molecular and stable isotope analysis. A large component of the current research is directed at addressing the declines in albatross and petrel populations as a result of incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries.

My previous research has encompassed a diverse range of topics including demography, conservation and management, individual quality, diet, provisioning strategies and foraging ranges, physiology and regulation of chick growth, territoriality, the evolution of plumage polymorphism and size dimorphism, and, in collaboration with other researchers, heavy metal and stable isotope studies. This has included work on fulmars, gannets, kittiwakes, barnacle geese, natterjack toads, albatrosses and skuas.