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- The evolutionary ecology of cognition across a heterogeneous landscape
- ObSERVE aerial surveys
- SeabirdWatch
- The distribution, diet, vulnerability of far-ranging pelagic-foraging seabirds to oil spills
- EIRwind – Understanding seabird vulnerability to offshore windfarms
- MarPAMM - Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring
- The development of robust predictors of seabird behaviour at sea
- The Ecology of a Cryptic Game Species
- Dipper Ecology
- Developing a tool to predict the distribution of seabirds
- Developing and assessing a monitoring strategy for burrow nesting seabirds in Ireland
- How Wintering Waterbirds use Dublin Bay
- Eurasian Woodcock Satellite Tagging and Tracking Project 2012-2016
- Modelling the impacts of fossils and renewable energy industries on internationally protected seabird populations around Ireland
- The evolutionary ecology of individual variation in cognitive performance
- ADAPT - Avian Diversity and Afforestation Planning Tool
- Interactions between Hen Harriers and Wind Turbines
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Ashley Bennison
Biography
Ashley gained his MSc in Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology in 2012 from the University of Exeter. During this time he worked on the ecology of Northern gannets developing his interest in foraging, movement, and seabird ecology. Following from this, he worked as a field assistant in northern Sweden as part of a long-term study assessing the evolution of life history strategies in Siberian jays and song thrushes. Since January 2014 he has worked as a research assistant in the Marine Ecology Group at MaREI. Whilst there, he has worked on a multitude of seabird tagging and at sea survey projects.
Research Interests
Ashley’s research focuses on the application of techniques used to determine the at-sea behaviour of seabirds. Much seabird mortality occurs at sea through birds being bycaught in fishing gear, consuming or becoming entangled in marine litter, and encountering oil spills, making the designation of protected areas at sea paramount to the conservation of seabirds. His research looks at ways to assess how seabirds use the marine environment and where they are likely to be most susceptible to human impacts. He is also interested the combination of different data sources such as tagging data, at-sea surveys, and remote sensing and how these may inform our knowledge of seabirds.
Publications
- Bennison, A. & Jessopp, M (2015) At Sea Surveys confirm north Atlantic biodiversity hotspot. Bird Study, 63, 262-266.
- Bennison, A., Bodey, T., Jessopp, M., Bearhop, S. (in prep) Using time depth recorders to project fine scale foraging effort in a marine predator; the northern gannet. Intended journal: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Professional Activity
Outreach Activities
Part of the Irish team of the MARLISCO project, promoting social awareness and co-responsibility of marine litter in European seas, a key issue related to Ashley’s research interests. This project resulted in several reports being presented to the European Commission.