The project

Kittiwakes are a cliff nesting gull species suffering population decline. Whilst this decline has been related to anthropogenic changes to their food supply it is also the case that Kittiwakes face many other stressors including weather conditions and predation. These factors are particularly important during the breeding season. Given this we are interested in all details of their colonial nesting habitat and the behaviours within that habitat. Whilst we have predominantly focused upon coastal nesting behaviour [1–3], we are now turning our attention to Kittiwakes nesting in urban environments, on structures created by humans.

For this new project BSL@MDX have partnered with Shoney Wind Limited (SWL)to deliver on two image-based studies.

For the first study, SWL have three years (2022-2024) of photographic data from the Kittiwake nesting tower at Saltmeadows, Gateshead in the Northeast of England. All data were recorded from February to August, capturing the entire breeding period from recruitment to the colony through to departure.

The tower has 3 faces, which local bird watchers refer to as the East, West and South face. The actual orientations are: “East Face”- faces SE (130˚); “West Face”- faces N (355˚) “South Face”- faces SW (220˚). You can learn more about the tower project here.

There is another onshore artificial nesting structure, called the Kittiwakery, that is a pilot project funded by the developing DBS (Dogger Bank South) offshore wind farms and managed by Shoney Wind Limited. On this site there are motion capture video cameras capturing data throughout the season on a selection of nest sites. Analysis of this data will form the basis of the second study. You can learn more about SWL’s work on this here and here.

These datasets provide an ideal opportunity to carry out a study using image analysis. This is a technique that is proving increasingly useful in seabird research [4]. Both the 2022-2024 photos and the video capture would allow us to: 

• compare arrivals and departures by face and by year

• examine nest interannual re-occupation patterns on each face to see whether occupation by ledge has a distinct pattern

• compare nest occupation and differences in spatial patterns between the faces

• determine where old nests are reoccupied and new nests constructed

• compare whether there are differences in fledging dates by face

• investigate activity at the nest during the breeding season

• compare these findings with similar work from coastal colonies

Who we are looking for

These two MSc by Research opportunities would suit someone with a background in animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, ecology or a related discipline. Ideally the student would have an interest in seabirds and evolutionary models of their behaviour, but students with more general interests within the broad disciplinary domain would make a welcome addition to the lab.

The project is desk based, organising and developing a data set from the images and using that to analyse the core questions. We anticipate the students will also develop other questions as the overall data set is developed. We will expect the student to want to visit the sites during the breeding season to become familiar with the colonies and Kittiwake behaviour in vivo.

The team

This project is situated within the BSL@MDX group, enabling interaction with other postgraduate research students including those working on Kittiwakes. The Director of Studies will be Tom Dickins, professor of behavioural science. Nathalie Stevenson, Director of SWL will be an external advisor.

How to apply

Interested candidates should feel to direct informal queries to Tom Dickins by following this link.  To apply for one of the MSc projects candidates should go to the Middlesex University Research Degrees page. From there you will be directed to the application portal registration process.

When applying please indicate that you are applying for the MSc by Research (Evolutionary Behavioural Sciences) programme, mention the overall project title of Kittiwakes in Human Habitats, and also name Tom Dickins as point of contact. This will ensure the application is triaged directly to Tom who will coordinate from that point.

References

1. Dickins TE, Neller K, Spencer R. 2018 Clutch size in Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) on Lundy. J. Lundy Field Soc. 6, 7–26.

2. Mead A-R, Dickins TE. 2023 Sibling aggression between Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicks. J. Lundy Field Soc. 8, 87–98.

3. Mead A-R, Neller K, Horrod-Wilson W, Dickins TE. 2021 Adult Kittiwake expelling chick from nesting ledge. Br. Birds 114, 766.

4. Edney AJ et al. 2024 Using citizen science image analysis to measure seabird phenology. Ibis , ibi.13317. (doi:10.1111/ibi.13317)