Overview
I have diverse experience in wildlife ecology and management, with work ranging across taxa from grizzly bears to seabirds. I am interested in questions pertaining to the influence of human activities on wildlife behaviour and the ecological consequences thereof.
My research examines how the utilisation of food subsidies, in the form of discards from commercial fisheries, influences the foraging behaviour and spatial ecology of northern gannets (Morus bassanus), across age classes, during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Understanding the extent to which this occurs throughout the population and geographic range of the species can help inform marine spatial planning efforts and shed light on the consequences of fisheries policy changes.
I am supervised by Dr. Rich Sherley, Prof. Stephen Votier and Prof. Stuart Bearhop
Qualifications
2014 MSc Conservation and Biodiversity (University of Exeter)
2006 BA Biology (Lewis and Clark College)
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Laurenson K, Atkins K, Clark B, Morgan G, Morgan L, Votier S (2021). Gannet Morus Bassanus ring recoveries suggest shorter migrations than geolocator tracking, but indicate no long-term change in migration distances.
BIRD STUDY,
68(1), 1-8.
Author URL.
Clark BL, Cox SL, Atkins KM, Bearhop S, Bicknell AWJ, Bodey TW, Cleasby IR, Grecian WJ, Hamer KC, Loveday BR, et al (2021). Sexual segregation of gannet foraging over 11 years: movements vary but isotopic differences remain stable.
Marine Ecology Progress Series,
661, 1-16.
Abstract:
Sexual segregation of gannet foraging over 11 years: movements vary but isotopic differences remain stable
Sex-specific niche differentiation is common in marine vertebrates, but how this varies long-term is poorly understood. Here we investigated interannual variation in sexual segregation among breeding northern gannets Morus bassanus, wide-ranging central-place foragers with slight sexual dimorphism. Over 11 breeding seasons, we used GPS tracking and/or stable isotopes to test for sex differences in foraging trip characteristics (range, duration and timing); spatial distribution; habitat selection; and carbon and nitrogen isotopes in blood. When combining data from all years, females foraged further and for longer than males, yet despite this, the foraging areas of the sexes almost completely overlapped. Males and females selected foraging habitats that differed in terms of oceanography but not fishing vessel density. We also detected temporal segregation: females were more likely to be at sea during the day than at night, while males were more likely to be at sea during the night. However, foraging behaviour quantified by all GPS analyses varied interannually, with sex differences detected in some years but not others. Finally, males had consistently higher red blood cell δ13C and δ15N than females across all years, which was not driven by size dimorphism, instead likely by prey choice or very fine-scale habitat selection. We conclude that environmental variation influenced short-term sex differences in movement, but sex differences in stable isotopes that integrate behaviour over longer periods reveal more consistent differences. Our results suggest that inferences drawn from single-year studies may not relate to general patterns, highlighting the importance of long-term studies and combining methods.
Abstract.
Carter MID, Cox SL, Scales KL, Bicknell AWJ, Nicholson MD, Atkins KM, Morgan G, Morgan L, Grecian WJ, Patrick SC, et al (2016). GPS tracking reveals rafting behaviour of Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus): implications for foraging ecology and conservation.
Bird Study, 1-13.
Abstract:
GPS tracking reveals rafting behaviour of Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus): implications for foraging ecology and conservation
© 2016 British Trust for Ornithology Capsule Three quarters of tracked Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) at Grassholm gathered in rafts around the colony, concentrated within a recently designated at-sea Special Protection Area (SPA), but rafting was not correlated with foraging effort. Aims to investigate the incidence, distribution and foraging implications of Northern Gannet rafting behaviour in waters adjacent to a large colony. Methods Using bird-borne global positioning system (GPS) loggers we reconstructed at-sea movement and used a speed filter to identify rafting behaviour within 10â€
km of the colony. We mapped the spatial distribution of rafting events from 160 breeding individuals over 5 years, and investigated the relationship between foraging effort (trip duration and total distance travelled) and the presence/absence of rafting. Results on average, 74% of tracked birds engaged in rafting. of the 381 foraging trips analysed, rafting was recorded on 237 (62%). Birds were more likely to raft on outbound (224 trips, 59%), than inbound journeys (38 trips, 10%). Presence/absence of rafting did not correlate significantly with foraging trip distance or duration nor with duration of nest attendance. The majority of rafting was concentrated in a 2-km radius around the colony within a recently designated seaward SPA extension. Birds showed low individual repeatability in rafting, although there was lower variation within, than among, individuals. Conclusion Our results show that rafting is important for breeding gannets on Grassholm, and a recently designated at-sea SPA encapsulates the core distribution of rafting. Rafting did not appear to be correlated with foraging behaviour. Given the dearth of literature on rafting and the wealth of GPS tracking data for seabirds, we suggest that similar research be conducted elsewhere to further elucidate the ecological and applied significance of this behaviour.
Abstract.
Publications by year
2021
Laurenson K, Atkins K, Clark B, Morgan G, Morgan L, Votier S (2021). Gannet Morus Bassanus ring recoveries suggest shorter migrations than geolocator tracking, but indicate no long-term change in migration distances.
BIRD STUDY,
68(1), 1-8.
Author URL.
Clark BL, Cox SL, Atkins KM, Bearhop S, Bicknell AWJ, Bodey TW, Cleasby IR, Grecian WJ, Hamer KC, Loveday BR, et al (2021). Sexual segregation of gannet foraging over 11 years: movements vary but isotopic differences remain stable.
Marine Ecology Progress Series,
661, 1-16.
Abstract:
Sexual segregation of gannet foraging over 11 years: movements vary but isotopic differences remain stable
Sex-specific niche differentiation is common in marine vertebrates, but how this varies long-term is poorly understood. Here we investigated interannual variation in sexual segregation among breeding northern gannets Morus bassanus, wide-ranging central-place foragers with slight sexual dimorphism. Over 11 breeding seasons, we used GPS tracking and/or stable isotopes to test for sex differences in foraging trip characteristics (range, duration and timing); spatial distribution; habitat selection; and carbon and nitrogen isotopes in blood. When combining data from all years, females foraged further and for longer than males, yet despite this, the foraging areas of the sexes almost completely overlapped. Males and females selected foraging habitats that differed in terms of oceanography but not fishing vessel density. We also detected temporal segregation: females were more likely to be at sea during the day than at night, while males were more likely to be at sea during the night. However, foraging behaviour quantified by all GPS analyses varied interannually, with sex differences detected in some years but not others. Finally, males had consistently higher red blood cell δ13C and δ15N than females across all years, which was not driven by size dimorphism, instead likely by prey choice or very fine-scale habitat selection. We conclude that environmental variation influenced short-term sex differences in movement, but sex differences in stable isotopes that integrate behaviour over longer periods reveal more consistent differences. Our results suggest that inferences drawn from single-year studies may not relate to general patterns, highlighting the importance of long-term studies and combining methods.
Abstract.
2016
Carter MID, Cox SL, Scales KL, Bicknell AWJ, Nicholson MD, Atkins KM, Morgan G, Morgan L, Grecian WJ, Patrick SC, et al (2016). GPS tracking reveals rafting behaviour of Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus): implications for foraging ecology and conservation.
Bird Study, 1-13.
Abstract:
GPS tracking reveals rafting behaviour of Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus): implications for foraging ecology and conservation
© 2016 British Trust for Ornithology Capsule Three quarters of tracked Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) at Grassholm gathered in rafts around the colony, concentrated within a recently designated at-sea Special Protection Area (SPA), but rafting was not correlated with foraging effort. Aims to investigate the incidence, distribution and foraging implications of Northern Gannet rafting behaviour in waters adjacent to a large colony. Methods Using bird-borne global positioning system (GPS) loggers we reconstructed at-sea movement and used a speed filter to identify rafting behaviour within 10â€
km of the colony. We mapped the spatial distribution of rafting events from 160 breeding individuals over 5 years, and investigated the relationship between foraging effort (trip duration and total distance travelled) and the presence/absence of rafting. Results on average, 74% of tracked birds engaged in rafting. of the 381 foraging trips analysed, rafting was recorded on 237 (62%). Birds were more likely to raft on outbound (224 trips, 59%), than inbound journeys (38 trips, 10%). Presence/absence of rafting did not correlate significantly with foraging trip distance or duration nor with duration of nest attendance. The majority of rafting was concentrated in a 2-km radius around the colony within a recently designated seaward SPA extension. Birds showed low individual repeatability in rafting, although there was lower variation within, than among, individuals. Conclusion Our results show that rafting is important for breeding gannets on Grassholm, and a recently designated at-sea SPA encapsulates the core distribution of rafting. Rafting did not appear to be correlated with foraging behaviour. Given the dearth of literature on rafting and the wealth of GPS tracking data for seabirds, we suggest that similar research be conducted elsewhere to further elucidate the ecological and applied significance of this behaviour.
Abstract.
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