Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize 2024
Ruth Dunn shares her team’s research investigating the number of marine birds that may be undetectable when underwater during at-sea surveys outside of their breeding seasons.
About the Research
Overview
The aim of our paper was to help improve the accuracy of marine bird abundance estimates generated from at-sea surveys. We did this by calculating correction factors that can be used to address availability bias (i.e., marine birds diving below the water’s surface, out of the eye of observers). We showed that the proportion of diving birds unavailable for detection varied by species, month, and location, revealing that commonly used correction factors may be inadequate and, in some cases, lead to troubling underestimates of marine bird abundance.
Surprises and challenges
I first analysed some of the data that this manuscript was based on during the first year of my PhD. My greatest challenge was therefore trying to re-understand some of the scripts that I’d written back then, but it was also really rewarding to come back to some similar ideas 4 years later and to see how far I’d come!
Next steps and broader implications
More and more data on the dive behaviour of seabirds are regularly being collected. It will be great to see these data beginning to close some of the knowledge gaps that we currently have – like how much time razorbills spend under water during the spring. Within our paper we advocate for larger sample sizes, longer-term biologging, and better estimates of non-breeding areas to ensure more reliable abundance and distribution estimates of marine birds.
It’s great that marine ecologists are increasingly collaborating with those who work within other marine industries, finding out what questions they have, and trying to find ways of answering them. Following the publication of our manuscript, we have been chatting to people within the offshore wind sector about how our new correction factors can be used. It’s exciting that the numbers that we’ve calculated will hopefully soon be used within assessments of offshore wind impacts.
About the Author
Getting involved in ecology
I was raised on regular holidays to the UK seaside where I loved exploring rockpools with my dad. I didn’t really know what I wanted to study at university, but he encouraged me to pursue a degree in ecology. I studied at the University of Hull in Scarborough where I was surrounded by passionate lecturers and, of course, lots of rockpools. By the end of my degree, I was hooked on discovering more about the natural world and what we can do to help conserve it.
Current position
I have recently moved to Montpellier, France to undertake a new postdoctoral role at The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). I am working on seabird movement data that has been collected around the north coast of France – a key area for future wind farm developments. I am excited to continue to discover new things about seabird behaviour, with this project involving data from over 10 species of marine bird.
Current research focus
I love discovering more about seabirds, particularly their movement ecology and energetics. I’ve recently been researching how tropical red-footed boobies use winds throughout their foraging trips. However, I’m now returning to more temperate climates to again research the dive behaviour and movement behaviour of North Atlantic seabirds.
Advice for fellow ecologists
Working with nice people who you get along with is really important. I’m really grateful to have been able to do this throughout my career so far.
Check out Ruth Dunn’s previous blogpost for more details on her experience during her study!
Read the full article ‘Temporal and spatial variability in availability bias has consequences for marine bird abundance estimates during the non-breeding season’ in Ecological Solutions and Evidence.
Find the other early career researchers and their articles that have been shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize 2024 here!
