Biography

Adam went to college with the intention of studying dinosaurs and started off by completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology at University College Dublin in 2007. During this time his interests broadened which resulted in him spending time in Uganda and Swaziland working on birds and bats. He returned to college and attained his Master’s Degree in Science Communication from Dublin City University in 2010. When he found out that someone was studying vultures at Trinity College Dublin, he put together a proposal for a PhD. He received his doctorate in 2015. Adam is currently studying seabirds with at University College Cork.

Research Interests

Adam is a quantitative ecologist who has coupled field work with a range of methods, notably agent-based models, to explore questions on foraging behaviour, conservation efforts and life history across the animal kingdom but with a particular focus on birds. Under the mentorship of Prof John Quinn here at UCC Adam intends to investigate questions about information transfer in seabirds as well as the conservation of the group. He loves communicating his research and science in general to anyone who will listen and to that end he regularly blogs, tweets and talks about his work and the work of others.

Publications

1. Kane, A. & Kendall, C. J. (2017) Understanding how mammalian scavengers use information from avian scavengers: cue from above. J Anim Ecol, 86: 837–846. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12663
2. Kane, A., Healy, K., Guillerme, T., Ruxton, G. D. and Jackson, A. L. (2017) A recipe for scavenging in vertebrates – the natural history of a behaviour. Ecography, 40: 324–334. doi:10.1111/ecog.02817
3. Kane, A., Wolter, K., Neser, W., Kotze, A., Naidoo, V. & Monadjem, A. (2016)  Home range and habitat selection of Cape Vultures Gyps coprotheres in relation to supplementary feeding,  Bird Study  6(3)
4. Kane, A., Healy, K.,  Ruxton, G.D. &  Jackson, A.L.  (2016)  Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs,  The American Naturalist  187: 6,  706-716
5. Kane, A., Jackson A.L., Colomer, M.A. & Margalida A. (2015) Carrion ecology modelling for vulture conservation: are vulture restaurants needed to sustain the densest breeding population of the African White-backed Vulture? Animal Conservation 18: 279-286
6. Kane, A., Jackson, A.L., Ogada, D., Monadjem, A., & McNally, L. (2014) Vultures acquire information on carcass location from scavenging eagles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 281(1793)
7. Healy, K., Guillerme T., Finlay, S., Kane, A., Kelly, S.B.A., McClean, D., Kelly, D.J., Donohue, I., Jackson, A.L. & Cooper, N. (2014) Ecology and mode of life explain lifespan variation in birds and mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 281(1784), 20140298 BLOG   Media Coverage
8. Monadjem, A., Wolter, K., Neser, W., & Kane, A. (2014) Effect of rehabilitation on survival rates of endangered Cape vultures. Animal Conservation 17(1), 52-60
9. Wakefield, E.D., Bodey, T.W., Bearhop, S., Blackburn, J., Colhoun,K., Davies, R., Dwyer, R.G., Green, J., Gremillet, D.,Jackson, A.L., Jessopp, M.J., Kane, A., Langston, R.H.W., Lescroel, A., Murray, S., Le Nuz, M., Patrick, S.C., Peron, C., Soanes, L., Wanless, S., Votier, S.C., & Hamer, K.C. (2013) Space Partitioning Without Territoriality in Gannets. Science 341 (6141), 68-70
10. Monadjem, A., Kane, A., Botha, A., Dalton, D., & Kotze, A. (2012) Survival and Population Dynamics of the Marabou Stork in an Isolated Population, Swaziland. PLOS One 7(9): e46434
11. Kane, A. A suggestion on improving mathematically heavy papers. (2012) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109(45), E3058-E3059

Professional Activity

Adam ran an award winning blog while completing his PhD at Trinity College Dublin: www.ecoevoblog.com

Coverage of some of Adam’s papers, published in late 2014, on vulture behaviour and conservation:

• RTE, Wednesday September 10, 2014
• The Journal, Wednesday September 10, 2014
• Org, Wednesday September 10, 2014
• TierWelt (Switzerland), Wednesday September 10, 2014
• Science Codex, Wednesday September 10, 2014