Ruth Jeavons

Profile

2016 – Present  PhD student at the Univeristy of Leeds 

I am a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds studying the behavioural ecology of Britain’s biggest seabird, the northern gannet, Morus bassanus. I come from a keen background in conservation, having volunteered and worked for conservation organisations before starting my PhD. I have a particular enthusiasm for seabirds and the wider marine environment, having spent summer seasons monitoring and studying seabirds at a number of colonies during my MSc degree and previous employment. I hope to use my PhD research, and future work, to serve the natural world, and help protect it in these uncertain times.

2015 – 2016  RSPB Scotland Assistant Warden, Isle of Oronsay 

Main duties split between farming for biodiversity and wildlife, and biological surveying/ conservation work. 

2014 – 2015 MSc Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds 

Dissertation project – the chick diet of two species of auk with contrasting foraging strategies.

2014 April – August RSPB Seabird Research Residential Volunteer 

Broad range of cencus and producivity surveys throughout the breeding season on a number of seabird species. Contributed to the 2014 annual report for Bempton and Filey SPA Seabird Monitoring Programme. 

2010 – 2013 BSc Zoology, Newcastle University 

Honours project – Raptor distribution and habitat selection during winter. 

Research interests

My research centres around the use of accelerometry data to invesitgate the energetic consequences of consistent individual differences in foraging behaviour of chick-rearing northern gannets, Morus bassanus. To do this, I have spent three consecutive summers fitting breeding gannets on Bass Rock, Scotland, with tri-axial accelerometers, GPS loggers and time-depth recorders, to gather fine-scale three-dimensional data on the foraging behaviour of known individuals.

 

 

Qualifications

• MSc, Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds
• BSc, Zoology, Newcastle University

Research groups and institutes

• Ecology and Evolution