Lila has joined us fresh from her PhD, where she was based at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) in Edinburgh, supervised by Francis Daunt, Maria Bogdanova, Jonathan Green (University of Liverpool) and Bob Furness (MacArthur Green). Lila’s PhD research focussed on the non-breeding season distribution, behaviour and energetic expenditure of common guillemots and razorbills.

Lila used tracking data derived from individuals breeding at 12 colonies in the north of the UK to assess population-variation in non-breeding season ecology and quantify species- and population-level vulnerability to marine threats. Lila is experienced at working with seabird tracking data, including geolocation-immersion loggers and time-depth recorders, which will be highly applicable to her role within the MARCIS project.

Left: razorbill with a geolocation-immersion logger; right: common guillemot with a time-depth recorder and geolocation-immersion logger. Photo credit: Andrew Carter.

Lila’s postdoc will involve using agent-based modelling to predict the impacts that a range of marine stressors will have on seabird populations. Lila will use seabird tracking data, including those derived from geolocation-immersion loggers, GPS loggers and time-depth recorders, to quantify current seabird distributions, behaviour and energetic expenditure. Subsequently, she will overlap these distributions and behavioural metrics with locations of marine stressors, including areas of high fishing activity and current and planned energy developments, to model the likelihood of interacting with a marine stressor, and how distribution, behaviour, energetics and subsequent survival may vary as a result.

Welcome to the team, Lila!

Lila celebrating her PhD viva success with an auk-themed cake. Photo (and cake) credit: Ruth E. Dunn.

• 12 September 2022
• Author: Camilla Næss
• Number of views: 1437