We are delighted to welcome Professor Stephen Votier to give this years Bryan Nelson Memorial Lecture.
Animal borne devices, or bio-loggers, have fundamentally altered our understanding of the natural world. More than 40 years after Bryan Nelson first published his gannet monograph, tracking has revealed amazing new insights into their little-known lives at sea. This talk will summarise some of what we have learnt from this technical revolution and also some things that still remain a mystery.
Professor Stephen Votier is Professor of Seabird Ecology & Conservation at the Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University. Stephen has 15 years’ experience working in tertiary education - teaching and researching marine biology at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth. Prior to this, he completed his PhD and post-doctoral research at the Universities of Glasgow and Sheffield and a Fellowship in Spain, studying seabird fishery interactions and demography. His research focusses on understanding seabirds’ behavioural and demographic response to a rapidly changing world in temperate, polar and tropical seas. He first visited Bass Rock in 2002 and this was influential in his decision to begin a long-term study of gannets on Grassholm, Wales, in 2005. He is passionate about engendering a love of the marine environment - from plankton at the base to seabirds at the top of the food chain - drawing on first-hand field experiences to help. His research includes the use of new technologies such as bird-borne loggers and ‘big-data’ to address important conservation questions and make as many people as possible stakeholders in our fabulous marine resources. An avid birder since he can remember, Stephen is a member of the British Birds Editorial Board, the British Birds Rarities Committee and is the outgoing Chair of the Seabird Group.
This event is FREE, but numbers are limited. Please register to attend.
This is a 1.5 hour online talk with a brief introduction, 45 minute presentation and a Q&A session at the end.
A Zoom link, full joining instructions and information about the event will be shared via email the day before the event.
ABOUT THE ORGANISERS
The RSPB Edinburgh Local Group covers not only Edinburgh but has members from all around the Lothians. We have monthly indoor meetings from September to April (currently using Zoom) at the Craiglockhart campus of Napier University. At these meetings there are speakers covering a wide range of nature related topics. There are a series of walks and coach trips throughout the year but due to the pandemic this has been severely curtailed. Some walks with limited numbers of participants are being reintroduced. Volunteers within the group participate in a number of RSPB events around Edinburgh and the Lothians (The Royal Highland Show, Gardening Scotland, Big Garden Birdwatch at the Figgate Park). Some of the volunteers carry out conservation work at areas like Aberlady Bay or participate in bird counts for the BTO.
For further information please list our website at https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/groups/edinburgh/
At the Scottish Seabird Centre, all our education and conservation activities are designed to motivate people to make positive changes in their own lives to protect the marine environment now and in the future. Please consider making a donation via our Just Giving page below or selecting a donation ticket to support our vital conservation and education work. Your support will help ensure we can continue to do that in the years to come. Thank you.
https://www.justgiving.com/scottishseabird-centre
Gannet photos ©️ Stephen Votier