People

Sarah worked for her resMSc on a project tackling the effect of human feeding deer on their ecology particularly looking at potential disruptions of male-male interactions and mating behaviour in fallow deer.

Prabhleen is a data scientist interested in exploring the ecology of interactions among large herbivores using social network analysis. In September 2019, Prabhleen started her Phd with SFI Centre for research training (SFI CRT webpage) and worked under the supervision of Dr. Michael Salter-Townshend (UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics) and Dr. Simone Ciuti (UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science). Prabhleen successfully developed novel statistical methods that can be applied in the social network analysis of animal societies.

Holly is a highly skilled movement ecologist who secured the prestigious IRC fellowship and started her PhD journey in September 2019. Her PhD project disentangled foraging behaviour in canids (foxes, wild dogs, maned wolves) at a resolution never attempted before using the most recent advvances with biologging and accelerometry. She put together an outstanding multi-disciplinary team and was co-supervised by  Prof. Tim Coulson (University of Oxford) and  Prof. Luca Borger (Swansea University).  Twitter: @Lycaonpictus93 

Kilian's research focused on providing data-driven solutions to large herbivore management conflicts. Kilian used data, simulations, and tech to disentangle the cause of long-term management conflicts and provide evidence-based management options for stakeholders and policymakers. Kilian has completed research on wolves and deer for his Undergraduate thesis and has been completing a research project on the predator-prey dynamics of Coyote and Mule Deer in modified landscapes in North Dakota since 2018. Kilian has been working in the SMARTDEER project, using statistical models to monitor and study Deer population density and distribution in Ireland to provide data-driven management strategies to combat management conflicts. 

Colin already contributed to lab activities in the past by working under the unbrella of DAFM-funded SMARTDEER project, looking at the impact of deer on Irish forest ecosystems. Colin also took the role of research assistant in our more recent project bioDEERversity tackling the effect of deer on biodiversity and particularly looking at the effects of locally over-abundant deer populations on soil ecology, and plant, mammal and bird diversity. 

Amy completed her BSc (Hons) in Zoology at NUI Galway. Her fourth-year project was based on the use by various mammalian species of an urban park and the effects of development and disturbance. In October 2011, Amy completed a PhD at University College Cork entitled “The Ecology of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in rural Ireland.” In October 2012, Amy commenced a post doc at UCC on the “population dynamics, habitat use, philopatry and feeding behaviour of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)”. In March 2015, Amy commenced a second post doc at Teagasc, Moorepark entitled “Environmental enrichment to reduce tail biting in pig farms”, looking at the behaviour of farmed pigs and ways to improve welfare standards. She significantly contributed to our lab activities as a technical officer at the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science by participating in the fallow deer longitudinal study in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Amy's research interests are in terrestrial mammal ecology, conservation, welfare and animal behaviour.  

Anna completed her BSc (Hons) in Zoology at University College Dublin where her fourth-year research project focussed on investigating the autecology and diet of perlid stoneflies in Irish rivers. After completing her undergraduate degree, she spent some time in ecological reserves in a number of tropical locations including Mexico, Costa Rica, and Indonesia. Assisting with conservation work and data collection in the tropics led her to completing a research masters in Tropical Forest Ecology at Imperial College London. For this, her research project focussed on using ptilochronology as a proxy of physiological stress in bird species of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and how this changes with distance to range edge and forest cover.  Anna has contributed significantly to our lab research and growth by carrying out research on the behavioural ecology of fallow deer in Phoenix Park, Dublin, covering the maternity leave of Amy Haigh.

Renée was a visiting master's student who worked on her thesis project for the EMJMD IDOH (Infectious Diseases and One Health) programme. Her project applied quantitative methods to shed light on the nuanced relationships between human-mediated landscape disturbances, the behaviour of wildlife species, and bovine tuberculosis breakdowns in cattle.

Andrew has been looking at infectious diseases afflicting the fallow deer in the Phoenix park. By working closely with vets from the UCD veterinary school (Dr. Nicola Fletcher and Dr. Annetta Zintl) he has been looking at the prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Toxoplasma gondii protozoan parasite.

Clíodhna's research looked at the movement ecology of the Angolan giraffe in the northern Namib desert, Namibia. Cliodhna has disentangled differences in movement strategies between males and females in relation to mate search and reproduction.

Colin’s research has focused on the interactions between deer species and national forests. By combining deer abundance, densities and presence with Ireland’s National Forest Inventory, he has tackled the factors that drive deer damage in forests. The aim of this project was to improve our understanding of how different deer species effect our national forests and provide relevant management strategies. 

Laura investigated the complex interactions between Fallow Deer (Dama dama) and humans in terms of supplementary feeding in Phoenix Park, Dublin. The goal of this research was to study the impact of tourist feeding on deer in relation to movement ecology, hierarchy, physiological factors and mating success. This has been culminated in a better understanding of the potential for artificial selection due to human activities. She has also implemented management techniques, and tested their effectiveness, with the goal of designing a model management plan that can be utilised in other parks experiencing conflict from similar interactions. 

Bawan has successfully carried out the first Phoenix Park study aimed at 'Linking personality to life history traits in a wild ungulate'. Among the others, he has shown how neonatal personality in fallow deer is linked to foraging strategies and survival of fawns during the first year of life, disentangling proximate and ultimate causes of personality and its link to life history traits during early stage of development. 

Fiachra Corcoran, Katie Connolly, and Sarah Redmond have worked in Phoenix Park and carried out behavioural observations on deer fawns and their mothers - they were funded by the Crawford-Hayes fellowship scheme. Paddy Murphy was on this crew too as a part of his internship for MTU (Munster Technological University). Finally, Andrew Ryan and Colin Brock led the field work related to SNAPSHOT Europe. 

Terry Moore, Andrew Ryan, Laura Griffin, Anna David, Cliodhan Hynes, Jane Faull, Colin Brock, Fiachra Corcoran, Elizabeth Earley, Abigail Oconnell, Katie Connolly, Virginia-Morera Pujol, Holly English, Sarah Redmond, Olivia Walker, Simon Ritter, Patrick Murphy, Niamh Collins, Srivats Chari, Christopher Udusalu, Liam Kirwan, Bawan Amin, Sostenes Pelegrini, Daniela Sifuentes, James Hayes, Kelly OReagan, Grace Nolan, Adam Smith, Tyron Kritzinger, Amberleigh Byrne, Simone Ciuti

Nathan and James worked in collaboration with DAFM to understand the drivers of badger distribution and abundance across Ireland. Data gathered in this project are important to improve our understanding of the role of wildlife on bovine Tuberculosis spread and maintenance.  

Mariosa investigated whether there is a correlation between neonatal personality and anti-predator strategy in a Wild Mammal. By studying heart rates, latency and other traits of fallow fawns (Dama dama), she looked at trappability and sightability in shy vs bold neonates. 

Sarah worked on her final year undergraduate thesis which was looking into the effects of begging behaviour on antler sizes in Fallow deer.  This involved comparing the begging ranks and food acceptance rates with antler sizes to determine whether they were linked.  This project aimed to further our understanding of how humans are impacting wild populations through processes such as artificial selection.

Ellen completed her undergraduate degree in Zoology in Nuig. For her resMSc at UCD, she has been looking at the effects of artificial feeding on male fallow deer, particularly focusing on antler growth and size.

Sarah has worked on a project putting together the first and most comprehensive list of zoonosis pathogens occurring across charismatic deer species across the globe. 

Filipe and Sinead have been working on a project dealing with the human-deer conflict in Phoenix Park, with a particular focus on the issue of people feeding the deer. They both tested the efficacy of media platforms and communication strategies to alleviate the human-wildlife conflict. 

Hannah has been expanding the research she carried out during her undergraduate thesis (mating behaviour of subadult fallow deer males), and she has been working on a manuscript to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Terry Moore, Andrew Ryan, Hannah Condon, Laura Griffin, Amy Haigh, Faith Kurtz, Ellen O'Hagan, Cliodhan Hynes, Aoife Tynan, Jane Faull, Colin Brock, Fiachra Corcoran, Pietro Sabbatini, Euan Mortlock, Elizabeth Earley, Abigail Oconnell, Lucy Barrett, Katie Connolly, Karen Ahearne, Virginia-Morera Pujol, Kilian Murphy, Holly English, Kim Conteddu, Simone Ciuti

Pietro was a UCD vet student carrying our a research on how disease in deer (i.e. Toxoplasmosis) may affect their behaviour

Faith was a visiting student from Michigan State who studied behaviour in neonate deer

Karen was a student from MTU Kerry and carried our behavioural research in deer as part of her work placement in UCD

Colin collected deer body and antler sizes using non-invasive photogrammetry technique in Phoenix Park, whereas Jane studied fawn-mother interactions in fallow deer.

Shawn was a BSc Environmental biology student with a strong interest in behavioural ecology. As part of his final year project, he studied the yearling male fallow deer (Prickets) in the Phoenix Park. The project involved using behavioural observations and physiological data recorded as fawns to analyse the inter-individual differences in spatial behaviour of Prickets. The goal of this research was to analyse whether neonate personality has any influence on when these Prickets leave their Mother to join the male herd. 

Srivats worked on a project dealing with personality traits in large mammals through the lens of movement behaviour under the umbrella of the EURODEER network in collaboration with researchers across Europe. He specifically worked on GLMMmcmc to tackle covariance of behavioural types and define personality traits from movement data. 

Sociality and early investment in reproduction by yearling fallow deer males

Matt worked on a very exciting project which set the scene on how we can disentangle the effect of human pressures on wildlife stress using faecal parasites as bioindicators. He successfully combined behavioural, morphological and parasitological data in fallow deer, showing how egg counts can be an excellent indicator of deer energy investment throughout the annual biological cycle. 

The link between foraging strategies and early investment in reproduction by yearling fallow deer males

Sneaky mating tactics in yearling fallow deer males

Emma (GCF webpage, UCD webpage) completed her PhD journey by the end of 2020, publishing 4 high-quality peer-reviewed papers and more are expected to be published soon. Emma carried out research on the movement ecology and social networks of the Angolan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) of the northern Namib Desert, Namibia, with a particular focus on conservation implications

Kim studied reproductive strategies in female fallow deer, how they cope with humans during the birth season, how they behave within heavily human-dominated landscapes. 

Aggressive behaviour in male fallow deer before the mating season.

Photogrammetry applied to deer in the Phoenix Park.

Bawan Amin, Srivats Chari, Euan Mortlock, Kimberly Conteddu, Matthew Quinn, Holly English, Laura Griffin, Amy Haigh, Andrew Ryan, Kilian Murphy, Sarah Keenan, Hannah Condon, Cliodhna Ni Chroidheain, Pippa-Jordan Faull, Niamh Gibbons, Maeve Moran, Danielle Crowley

Aggressive and play behaviour in yearling male fallow deer.

Linking early-life personality in fallow deer neonates to their behaviour during the first year of life.

Mating behaviour in yearling male fallow deer: does size matter?

Mating behaviour in yearling male fallow deer

Maria was a GMIT student doing an MSc in Conservation behaviour. She studied inter-individual variation in behavioural traits of sub adult male fallow deer for her final thesis and has an interest in researching how behavioural studies can be applied to mitigating against conservation issues. 

Zhuzhu investigated the reasons why people feed wildlife, particularly deer. She designed and developed a survey aimed at assessing the drivers of such problematic and complex human-wildlife interactions. 

Saoirse carried out a project on the seasonal variation of deer parasite loads in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Adam has developed new tools to remotely measure sexual secondary traits in large mammals in the wild (namely photogrammetry). He has calibrated his techniques with deer antlers (roe and fallow deer of different age classes) which was proved be highly precise and accurate. His technique is applicable to several species and ecological contexts, and would allow to measure body size and traits in vertebrates. Adam has successfully submitted his MSc thesis (Dec 2019) and other students of the lab are now using his technique to measure body traits in deer. 

Vasou joined the lab during her second year at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada) in biology and wants to work towards getting her PhD in ecology after graduation. Vasou spent over 2 months in our lab working in the fallow deer research project in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Bawan Amin, Adam Smith, Holly English, Sarah Keenan, Matt Quinn, Roisin Sheehy, Srivats Chari, Hayley-Anne Haughey, Casey Patmore, Vasou Ioannidis, Anthony Legeard, Kimberly Conteddu, Alison Norman, Amy Haigh, Billy Clark, Terry Moore (OPW), Andrew Ryan, Peadar Charles, Annemarie Barbier, Theo Ward, Alice Magee, Carla Gillham, Cliodhna Ni Chroidheain, Emily Mooney, Jana Eccard, Pippa Jordan Faull, Katie Wilson, Sanne Fennema, May Higgins, Orla Heussaf, Ruari O'Dea, Julia Evans, Kate Toland, 

Alison joined the lab as a stage 3 Zoology student, received financial support from the Crawford-Hayes fund,  and carried out behavioural observations in the Phoenix Park in relation to the study of human-deer interactions.  

Jordan joined the lab as a stage 3 Zoology student, received financial support from the Crawford-Hayes fund,  and carried out behavioural observations in the Phoenix Park in relation to the study of human-deer interactions. 

Katie was a TCD final-year taught-MSc student and studied the effects of people and dogs on fawn bedsite selection in the Phoenix Park.

Emily studied for an MSc in Animal Behaviour & Welfare in Queens University Belfast, and her research project looked at whether personality influences departure times of the male fawns from the female herd. 

Alice collected for her final year project behavioural data in fallow deer fawns in the Phoenix Park. The goal was to study the development and the consistency of behaviour during the first year of life in fawns to be eventually linked to life history.

Hayley-Anne investigated whether the trapping of animals usually involved in wildlife research is biased toward certain behavioural and/or morphological traits. She worked with fallow deer in the Phoenix Park and combined behavioural observations to capture data. 

Andrew analyzed giraffe telemetry data gathered in the Namib desert to disentangle the drivers of space use and habitat selection. This work contributed to improving the conservation of the species in the region.

Tobias worked on red deer satellite telemetry data collected in different European national parks with different wolf presence (wolf present, absent, or recently recolonized the area).  Goal of this research was to disentangle red deer behavioural reactions to wolves, and predict shifts in deer habitat selection and activity in those areas where recolonization by wolves is expected in the next few months/years. Co-supervised by Prof. Marco Heurich. 

Fabio disentangled the influence of conservation grazing on the spatial behaviour of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in North-Eastern Germany (DBU-funded project). Co- supervised by Prof. Dr. Siegfried Rieger, Dr. Frank-Uwe Michler, and Prof. Marco Heurich. 

Jenna was a visiting student from the US and studied personality in fallow deer fawns 

Julia worked on satellite telemetry data in the Bavarian Forest National Park to disentangle fine-scale resource selection in red deer by combining 3D-vegetation structure (LiDAR), activity and movement data. The ultimate goal of the project was to shed light on how red deer adjust their behaviour as a response to human recreational activities. Co-supervised by Prof Niko Balkenhol and Dr. Claudia Dupke.

Kyla joined us as a Biology major at Franklin & Marshall College from Honolulu, Hawaii. She studied heritability of personality traits, particularly with the bold-shy continuum. 

Matt worked hard with the capture crew team in Phoenix Park and ear-tagged more than 100 fallow deer fawns. 

Billy Clark, Sarah Keenan, Daniel O'Sullivan, Casey Patmore, Peadar Charles, Emilie Ellis, Eleanor Higgins, Srivats Chari, Katie Wilson, Roisin Sheehy, Cliodhna Ni Croidheain, Hannah McGlyn, Yixin Liu, Laura O'Neill, Robert O'Connell, Niall O'Sullivan, Luke O'Callaghan, Julie O'Hare, Niamh Hurley, Lisa Rafter, Andrea Locatelli, Liam Gaffney, Megan Whitty, Matthew Quinn, Kyla Nitahara, Amy Haigh, Terry Moore (OPW).

Katie Wilson, Roisin Sheehy, Cliodhna Ni Croidheain, Orna Phelan (Crawford-Hayes bursary), Hayley-Anne Haughey (Crawford-Hayes bursary), Matthew Quinn, Yixin Liu, Hannah Mc Glynn, Laura O'Neill, Amy Haigh.