Consultancy and advisory roles

Consultancy

Through the University of Exeter, I can offer consultant services in the analysis, evaluation and presentation of ecological or biological data. In particular, I have experience in analysing experimental data, productivity data, capture-mark recapture data, population dynamics and count data, and data from radio and telemetry studies.

We can consider both long- and short-term projects. Please Contact Me for more information.

Previous clients include BirdLife South Africa, the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, the International Ocean Institute, JNCC, Natural England, and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute.

Past and Present advisory roles

2020–present:     Seabird Technical Team Member, Top Predator Working Group,  Dept. of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa.

2017–present: IUCN Species Survival Commission Penguin Specialist Group member.

2015–2016:         Island Closures Technical Team Member, Dept. of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa.

2012–2015:         Population Reinforcement Working Group Chair, Dept. of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa.

2010–2021:         Scientific Observer, Small Pelagic Working Group, Dept. of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa.

Selected scientific reports and policy documents

• Lang SDJ, Votier SC and Sherley RB. 2024. Supporting Protected Seabird Populations: Ecological Research into Generating Ecosystem Benefits from Fish Offal Waste. Natural England Report NECRXXX, Natural England. [LINK]. [PDF].

• Lang SDJ, Ozsanlav-Harris L, Inger R and Sherley R. 2024. Review of data used to calculate avoidance rates for collision risk modelling of seabirds. Annex 4, Bird Collision Avoidance: follow-on analysis. JNCC Report 732, Annex 4, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091. [LINK]. [PDF].

• Sherley RB, Makhado AB, Crawford RJM, Hagen C, Kemper J, Ludynia K, Masotla MJ, McInnes A, Pichegru L, Tom D, Upfold L and Waller LJ. 2024. IUCN Red List results under Criterion A for African penguins based on nest counts from 1979 to 2023 and model fits using the JARA R package. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: STT_3_08022024. [PDF].

• Ozsanlav-Harris L, Inger R and Sherley R. 2023. Review of data used to calculate avoidance rates for collision risk modelling of seabirds. JNCC Report 732, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091. [LINK]. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2023. Synthesis document for 2023 panel considering South Africa’s experimental fisheries closures and their value for the endangered African penguin. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report. pp. 1–19. [PDF]. See here for the final 2023 Panel Report.

• Inger R, Sherley RB, Lennon J, Winn N, Scriven N, Ozsanlav-Harris L and Bearhop S. 2022. Surveys of Breeding Cliff-nesting Seabirds, Ground-nesting Seabirds and Burrow-nesting Seabirds in Western Scotland. Report to Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and Marine Scotland Science as part of the Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring (MarPAMM) project. pp. 1–78. [PDF].

• Makhado AB, Crawford RJM, Sherley RB, Upfold L and Masotla MJ. 2022. The ongoing decrease of African penguins globally and in South Africa, 1989–2022. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: STT5_28072022. pp 1–9. [PDF].

• Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Hagen C, Upfold L, McInnes A, Masotla MJ, Shannon LJ, Waller L and Makhado AB. 2021. Updated population trajectories and conservation status of the African penguin in South Africa following the 2021 census. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: FISHERIES/2021/JUL/SWG-PEL/46. pp. 1–6. [PDF].

• Crawford RJM, Furness RW, Saraux C, Shannon LJ, Sherley RB, Sydeman WJ and Makhado AB. 2020. Ecosystem thresholds as tools to achieve an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries. Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop Report to the Benguela Current Commission: Doc BCFF Inf. 9. pp. 1–9. [LINK]. [PDF].

• Crawford RJM, Shannon LJ, Sherley RB and Makhado AB. 2020. Food limitation and minimum viable populations of seabirds in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop Report to the Benguela Current Commission: Doc BCFF Inf. 10. pp. 1–12. [LINK]. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2020. Refitting the Western Cape chick survival model excluding the 8% of chicks not monitored from hatching does not change the inference about the effect of the island closures. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: FISHERIES/2020/NOV/SWG-PEL/117. pp. 1–5. [PDF].

• Sherley RB, Hagen C, Ludynia K, McInnes AM, Shannon L, Staasen M and Waller L. 2020. Some observations on the relative impacts of different drivers on change in the African penguin population growth rate. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: FISHERIES/2020/SEP/SWG-PEL/92. pp. 1–7. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2020. Some observations on comparisons of fitting to the annually aggregated and the individual data, this time using JAGS and for the cases considered in FISHERIES/2020/JUL/SWG-PEL/53REV. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: FISHERIES/2020/SEP/SWG-PEL/86. pp. 1–4. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2020. Revisiting the key results in MARAM/IWS/2019/PENG/P4 in light of the 2019 Panel recommendations. Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2020/JUL/SWG-PEL/53rev. pp. 1–27. [PDF].

• Kyne PM, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Francis MP, Fordham S, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB and Winker H. 2019. Pteroplatytrygon violacea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T161731A896169. [PDF of Supplementary Information].

• Rigby CL, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Fordham S, Francis, MP, Herman K, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB and Winker H. 2019. Carcharhinus longimanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39374A2911619. [PDF of Supplementary Information]

• Rigby CL, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Fordham S, Herman K, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB and Winker H. 2019. Sphyrna zygaena. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39388A2921825. [PDF of Supplementary Information]

• Rigby CL, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Fordham S, Francis MP, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB and Winker H. 2019. Isurus oxyrinchus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39341A2903170. [PDF of Supplementary Information]

• Rigby CL, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Fordham S, Francis MP, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB and Winker H. 2019. Isurus paucus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T60225A3095898. [PDF of Supplementary Information]

• Sherley RB, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Campbell KJ, Crawford RJM, de Blocq A, Grigg J, Le Guen C, Hagen C, Ludynia K, Makhado AB, McInnes A, Meyer A, Morris T, Pichegru L, Steinfurth A, Upfold L, van Onselen M, Visagie J, Weller F and Winker H. 2019. A Bayesian approach to understand the overall effect of purse-seine fishing closures around African penguin colonies. Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2019/NOV/SWG-PEL/32 (and later MARAM/IWS/2019/PENG/P4). pp. 1–25. [PDF].

• Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Kemper J, Makhado AB, Pichegru L, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LJ and Winker H. 2019. The conservation status and population decline of the African penguin deconstructed in space and time. Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2019/DEC/SWG-PEL/46. pp. 1–20. (Later published in Ecology and Evolution).

• Waller LJ, Crawford RJM, Sherley RB, Hagen C, Parsons N, Makhado A, Makoala M, Mann-Lang J, Oosthuizen A, Oosthuizen H, Shaw K, Stander N, van der Spuy S and Werth J. 2019. Conservation translocation guidelines of African penguins in South Africa. CapeNature.

• Winker H, Sherley RB, da Silva C, Leslie R, Attwood C, Sink K, Parker D, Fairweather T and Swart L. 2018. A Red Listing support tool applied on sharks, rays, and chimaeras (chondrichthyans) abundance indices from South African demersal trawl surveys. Sub-equatorial African endemics IUCN Shark Specialist Group Meeting: Grahamstown, 23-26th April 2018.

• Sherley RB. 2016. A Bayesian approach to understand the effect sizes, uncertainty and demographic impact associated with purse-seine fishing closures around African penguin colonies. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: MARAM/IWS/DEC16/Peng Clos/P2. pp. 1–28. [PDF]. (Later published in Proceedings B).

• Sherley RB. 2016. Additional analysis suggested in response to differences in variance estimates between Sherley (2016) and Ross-Gillespie & Butterworth (2016). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: MARAM/IWS/DEC16/Peng Clos/P4. pp. 1–3. [PDF].

• Weller F, Sherley RB, Altwegg R, Jarre A and Shannon LJ. 2016. Additional perspectives for the Stock Assessment Review Panel on penguin population modelling for decision making. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: MARAM/IWS/DEC16/Peng Press/P2. pp. 1–6. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2015. Proposal for additional analysis on the island closures feasibility data. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2015/AUG/SWG-PEL/PENG/R1. pp. 1–8.  

• Sherley RB. 2015. Comments on FISHERIES/2015/AUG/SWG-PEL/PENG/M1, ‘Points about technical proposals for determining the power and bias of estimators applied to “penguin experimental data”, Part I’. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2015/AUG/SWG-PEL/PENG/M1/RespR1. pp. 1–5. 

• Sherley RB. 2015. Comments and questions regarding FISHERIES/2015/AUG/SWG-PEL/PENG/D1. ‘Suggestions re further penguin power analysis and estimator simulation test in response to panel recommendations’. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2015/AUG/SWG-PEL/PENG/D1/RespR1. pp. 1–11.  

• Hagen C, Jarre A, Shannon L, Sherley RB, Steinfurth A, Crawford RJM, van der Merwe L, Wanless RM, Oosthuizen H, Pichegru L, Robinson K, Weller F, McInnes A, Winker H, Altwegg R, Ludynia K, Waller L and Makhado AB. 2014. Evaluating the state of knowledge on fishing exclusions around major African Penguin colonies. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: MARAM/IWS/DEC14/PENG/A1. pp. 1–12. [PDF].

• Sherley RB. 2014. Bayesian estimates of the power to detect an effect of fishing closures around Robben Island on the breeding productivity of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2014/APR/SWG–PEL/ICTT/19. pp. 1–14. [PDF]. (Later published in Biology Letters).