Understanding Vulture Space Use from Fine to Regional Scales

As the human population expands numerically and spatially at an unprecedented rate, we come into increasing contact with wild animal populations that can result in human-wildlife conflicts. These conflicts represent complex conservation problems requiring an in-depth understanding of animal space use in human-altered landscapes. Vultures have experienced population declines in many areas of the world as a result of changing agricultural and land-use practice. A detailed understanding of the mechanisms that drive patterns of space-use is required for these birds in order to understand their exposure to a range of potential threats, from harmful veterinary drugs to the risk of collisions with turbines. This PhD position will examine vulture space-use from fine to regional scales, using a combination of high-resolution movement data and Geographical Information System-type approaches.

The successful applicant will acquire diverse research skills, including analysis of accelerometry data, reconstruction of fine-scale flight paths using high-resolution movement data, use of GIS techniques and custom-made visualisation software. There are likely to be opportunities for data collection and further development of custom animal-attached hardware (Daily Diaries). The candidate will benefit from working within a lively, inter-disciplinary research environment within Swansea University’s College of Science and the use of a new £1.4 million, state-of-the art visualisation-suite, which is currently in construction. The candidate will be supervised by Dr Emily Shepard, who works on the costs and properties of animal movement paths, Dr Andrew King and Dr Adrian Luckman, who have expertise in the structure and function of animal societies and geospatial analysis, respectively.

For further details on this project, please contact Dr Emily Shepard – [Email Address Removed]

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS:
A strong undergraduate degree (at least an upper second class honours or equivalent) in a relevant subject is required. An MSc and/ or relevant experimental/ methodological/ field experience would be an advantage.