Tag: birds
But what is best for the gulls? Food and resources in a changed environment
We all know that diet can have a big impact on our health, and the same is true for the wildlife around us. Some animals adapt to new food resources, often bringing them into our everyday, where we see them scavenging for morsels. Recent Institute graduate Dr Nina O’Hanlon talks about her research into gull diet and how it is affecting their colonies.
Growing quickly comes at a price
Most of us have heard about antioxidants in the news or at the supermarket. But what are they? And how are they related to damage causing particles called free radicals? In this post Dr Shona Smith discusses her research on these important molecules, and explores their relationship to animal growth.
Episode 48: Sweden’s Avian Renaissance Man—Conversations with Professor Jan-Ake Nilsson
There are many ways to study life strategies of small passerines. Professor Jan-Ake Nilsson of the University of Lund sat down with us to talk about his studies, and the fantastic little birds that he has worked with.
Birds and Trees: Doing Research in SCENE’s woodlands
SCENE has been home to many research projects over the years. While many of these have been short studies focused on individual researchers’ interests, some study systems have provided a wealth of possibilities leading to decades of detailed and diverse research projects. One such system is the blue tit population inhabiting the woodlands around the research station. Masters student Simon […]
Episode 36: What’s in it for the bird? Extra-pair mating and inbreeding in Song Sparrows
Bird researcher, Prof. Jane Reid, never set out to become an academic, in fact, she tried her very best not to. Having developed an interest in birds from a young age, her great ambition was to work for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). But, she figured to work there she would probably need a PhD. Yet, […]
Episode 31 – At the Helm of chronobiology
At the Helm of chronobiology Why do we wake up early on our days off? Or notice it is almost lunchtime after our stomachs emit a rumble of hunger? Like all living organisms we have clocks inside us—internal timing mechanisms that guide everything from fine scale molecular processes to seasonal migrations. The study of these biological clocks is called chronobiology, […]
Stress is cool
How do we know if an animal is stressed? This unpleasant state is not reserved for humans, and if possible we would like to minimise the stress experienced by the animals around us. Traditionally, we have relied on measuring hormones in the blood to know if an animal is in a stressful state, but this invasive procedure has a flaw […]
