Group Leader of the Move.inFormation group at the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour. Funded by a Freigesit Fellowship. 01/01/2023 - present.

Postdoctoral Researcher within the lab of Kamran Safi and Martin Wikelski at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour. 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2022. Investigating the use of social information by aerial species for optimal movement decisions and reduced flight costs.

Postdoctoral Researcher. Emily Shepard, ERC funded, Swansea University.  01/11/2017 – 31/10/2019. Quantify the energetic cost of flapping flight for Andean Condors in relation to the potential energy that can be gained in soaring flight; Deployment of Daily Diary and GPS tags on Andean condors to obtain flight data; Boolean based classification of behaviour for movement cost analyses.

PhD Bioscience Emily Shepard, Andrew King, (SLAM, SHOAL), Swansea University Studentship. 2013 – 2017. Soaring behaviour in a social scavenger: Insights from bio-logging techniques. Development of bio-logging techniques and data visualisation software to identify movement patterns. Designed and built tags for deployment on condors, vultures and albatross, including field seasons in South Africa and France

MSc by Research Stuart Bearhop. University of Exeter, Cornwall campus.  2012 –2013. Investigating over-wintering strategies of Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) using stable isotope analysis and geolocation.  Stable isotope analyses and GLS locations; large data processing within an collaborative multi-year project.

Visiting Researcher. University of St Andrews. Pat Wilmer. 01/2012 – 07/2012. Movement and foraging decisions of bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) as influenced by the scent marks of foraging ants (Formica aquilonia).

Field Assistant. Rene Swift, Patrick Miller. University of St Andrews. 07/2011 – 08/2011. SMRU (Sea Mammal Research Unit); MICS (Mingan Island Cetacean Study), Quebec, Canada. Tag set up and release of little Leonardo tags to collect fine scale movement data of foraging humpback whales

Tropical Biology Association student. Uganda. BES funded 06/2011 – 07/2011. Developed research skills for ecological studies in savannah and tropic forest ecosystems

Field Assistant. Volker Deecke, Patrick Miller. University of St Andrews. SMRU and BBC funded. 06/2010 – 07/2010. Cetacean foraging, Minke and Humpback whale and the social structure of Killer whale groups. Collected acoustic and ID photographs in Husavik, and the Vestmannaeyjar islands of Iceland.; SOCPROG analyses; Filmed by BBC wildlife.

FGASA field guide, Kruger National Park, South Africa. 06/2009 – 07/2009. Completed the FGASA level 1 field guide course as recognised by South Africa

BSc Zoology University of St Andrews. 2007 – 2011. Honours Project: Group specific vocalisations in Northeast Atlantic killer whales (Orcina orca) (SMRU). Modules included: Animal Behaviour; environmental physiology; conservation research methods; ecology; vocal behaviour; cell biology and genetics; chemistry; Italian language

General Research Aims:

- Record and investigate how animals move through dynamic environments, focusing on flight of soaring birds

- Quantify the influence of environmental and social information on movement strategy, from the individual to the group

Presentations and Workshops

(2019) The Movement Ecology of Animals, Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), Tuscany, Italy (Seminar talk)

(2017) The 6th International Bio-logging Symposium (BLS6), Konstanz, Germany (Conference talk, Symposium talk and Chair)

(2016) ISBE, Exeter, UK (Talk)

(2015) Congrès EcoloTech Innovations en écologie, Montpellier, France (Talk)

(2015) Movement Ecology Workshop, Zurich University, Switzerland (student and workshop Re: tag technology)

(2014) The 5th international bio-logging symposium (BLS5), Strasbourg, France (Talk)

(2013) Association for the study of animal behaviour, Easter meeting, Newcastle, UK (Poster)