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Ruth Dunn

@ruthedunn.bsky.social
1.1K followers 425 following 38 posts

Researches marine predator movement & energetics with a focus on feathery, flying taxa 🌐 ruthedunn.com 📍 CNRS, Montpellier 📝 Associate Editor @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social 🐧 𝘴𝘩𝘦/𝘩𝘦𝘳

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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A really great article by @lisasgardiner.bsky.social on some of the research on tropical #seabirds that we've been doing over the last few years 🐦🐟 www.snexplores.org/article/tagg...
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Laura-Li Jeannot @lljeannot.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
📸🐠 Our crypto fish pics made the cover of @esajournals.bsky.social Ecology's latest issue! 🐠📸 Check out our article on cryptofauna to understand how these fishes act as a critical pathway for nutrients on reefs: esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Christina Hicks @christinahicks.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Delighted to launch a new @leverhulme.ac.uk Doctoral program on Food for Nature & Society: 30 PhD’s /w postdoc transition Details & projects to follow, 1st cohort Oct 2027 @doug-orr.bsky.social @profjessdavies.bsky.social @nickajgraham.bsky.social @ecarmosilva.bsky.social 📰 tinyurl.com/4v5yn28h
tinyurl.com
New ‘Food for Nature and Society’ doctoral programme to fund 30 PhDs - Lancaster University
Lancaster University is launching a new ‘Food for Nature and Society' doctoral training programme to tackle our contemporary food system crises, while also protecting our planet.
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Nick Graham @nickajgraham.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Jason Arday was subjected to a racially driven witch hunt. Far worse accusations or even confirmed cases of academic misconduct have received scant media attention. There should be an inquiry into media behaviour, bias and ethics. This can’t go unaccounted or happen again www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Jason Arday: Former Cambridge university professor found dead
His family said it was "in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son" after the academic was found dead in London on Friday.
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New research published in ‘Ecology’: doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70453 It was so fun to help Laura-Li collect some of these data on the contrasting influences of #seabirds on coral reef productivity pathways 💞🐠🦐🪸 @esajournals.bsky.social
Laura-Li smiling whilst driving a boat to scuba dive for cryptobenthic fauna in the tropics
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ESA Journals @esajournals.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Read the original #OpenAccess study here, in our journal "Ecology": esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Christopher Pollock @tonyauk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New paper! We simulated foraging trips of Northern gannets at Bass Rock to decipher what information individuals use to keep returning to the same foraging patches. Memory was the strongest driver, but it wasn't the whole story. 🧵👇 doi.org/10.1186/s404... 1/5
Figure showing Northern gannet foraging tracks, movement states, and prey distribution. (A) Map of GPS-tracked foraging trips from Bass Rock (black triangle) overlaid in grey, with representative tracks from three individuals highlighted (orange, green, and purple). Semi-transparent polygons indicate each individual's core foraging utilisation distributions, illustrating differences in individual foraging site fidelity and overlap (overlap values shown in the legend). (B) Example foraging trip classified into behavioural states: outbound travel (yellow), foraging (red), inbound travel (blue), and resting (light blue), with arrows indicating travel direction. (C) Enlarged view of a foraging segment showing tortuous movement characteristic of area-restricted search. (D) Spatial map of simulated prey density, with darker purple indicating higher prey availability.
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Alice Trevail @alicetrevail.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Excited to get started on our ARIA funded project with @robinfreeman.bsky.social and @ruthedunn.bsky.social: Predictive Foundational AI for ecosystem resilience forecasting. We're hoping to advance predictive conservation ecology for UK seabirds 🐦📈
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Christina Hicks @christinahicks.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Immensely proud of @nickajgraham.bsky.social on his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society. His work connecting seabirds, reefs, fisheries & people has been inspiring and influential & his thoughtful, unassuming leadership has shaped many excellent careers www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/lancast...
lancaster.ac.uk
Lancaster marine ecologist elected to become Royal Society Fellow - Lancaster University
Lancaster University’s Distinguished Professor Nick Graham has been elected to become a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the world’s most prestigious learned societies.
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Marine Ornithology @marineorno.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
New paper: Foraging areas of breeding adult Sooty tern on Bird Island, Seychelles. By Jessica L. Neumann et. al. #seabirds #OpenAccess #MarineProtectedArea www.marineornithology.org/PDF/54_1/54_...
A adult Sooty Tern in flight over the water. Photo: Adam Bowley. Macaulay Library ML 205391311
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Ecol. Solutions & Evidence | Applied Ecol. Resources @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We're accepting proposals for our Special Feature! We invite scientists and practitioners to share experiences from management projects that didn't go to plan, but still provided important insights into how best to manage ecosystems and species🌱 ⏰Submit by 30th April More here👇 buff.ly/EXXBFsJ
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Exciting PhD on mouse lemur population genomics, based in Montpellier with Helena Teixeira 🧬🌴👇 euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/420224
Black and white photo of a mouse lemur and some DNA alongside text: "PhD Position | mouse lemur population genomics | Sept 2026 | ISEM IRD University of Montpellier France"
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Lancaster University media relations team @lancasteruninews.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Thousands of dead puffins are washing up on Europe’s beaches - Dr Ruth Dunn explains why in the Conversation @lec-reefs.bsky.social @ruthedunn.bsky.social theconversation.com/thousands-of...
theconversation.com
Thousands of dead puffins are washing up on Europe’s beaches – why it’s been such a dangerous winter for seabirds
Seabirds are washing up on Europe’s beaches in large numbers after weeks of bad weather.
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Excited to head to Oxford for this on Friday! 🐦
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Evelyn Alexander @evelynalexander.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Thrilled to share my first PhD publication - gannets put more effort into diving when they are in groups 🐟🐟🐟 Out now in @meps-ir.bsky.social www.int-res.com/abstracts/me... +Thanks to my coauthors who put a lot of effort into collecting the videos! #seabirds #ornithology #animalbehaviour
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Lila Buckingham @lilabuckingham.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
✨New paper!✨ An individual‐based model to quantify the non‐breeding season impact of wind farms on #seabirds doi.org/10.1002/2688... @ninanatureresearch.bsky.social @seatrackscience.bsky.social @signecd.bsky.social @masden.bsky.social
doi.org
An individual‐based model to quantify the non‐breeding season impact of wind farms on seabirds
A novel individual-based model to predict the impacts of offshore wind farms on seabirds during the non-breeding season, using long-term tracking data from SEATRACK. We demonstrate the model by simul...
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Paul Dufour @pauldufour80.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
🚨 PhD offer (please share) Fascinated by bird migration and movement ecology? 🦜🌍 Join us at @vogelwarte.bsky.social to study annual cycle energetics with multi-sensor loggers in multiple species Deadline: 20 Feb 2026 Starting: June 2026 Supervision: Martins Briedis & me Info: tinyurl.com/2dbv9nzh
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Tim Lamont @timlamont.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Three weeks left to apply for our two PhD positions - come and join @lec-reefs.bsky.social to deliver applied research in restoration ecology and corporate sustainability! 🪸🐟🌳📊 Please do share amongst your networks, and I'm happy to meet with potential candidates to discuss the position further 👍
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Josie Hewitt @josiethebirder.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Join us! A great opportunity to join the @ukcehseabirds.bsky.social team working on the Isle of May. Great team, great place, great birds... what more could you want?! #seabird #fieldwork #job #ornithology #superseabirdsunday
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Shaun Killen @shaunkillen.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
🧵1/9 There are 35,000+ fish species, but we have formal social-behaviour classifications for a tiny fraction. Most knowledge lives in the experience of researchers, fishers, divers, aquarists, naturalists, and Indigenous communities, but almost none of it is centralised. So we built ShoalBase.org.
shoalbase.org
ShoalBase | Join, Explore, Contribute Now
ShoalBase offers a global database on fish social behaviour, supporting research, conservation, and ecology through community contributions and visual data mapping.
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Kirsty Franklin @kirstyfranklin.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Nominations for #WSC4 Keynote Speakers are open! ✨🌊 Early-career voices encouraged! 📍WSC4 In-person & Hybrid: 7–11 Sept 2026, Hobart, Tasmania 🔗 bit.ly/3Jv71c9 #seabirds #ornithology
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Jacqui Glencross @jacquiglencross.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
My first PhD paper is now out! We calculate overlap intensity between African penguins and the local purse seine fishery 🐧🐟 Check it out in @jappliedecology.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Spatial overlap alone downplays the level of interaction between a central place forager and the local fishery
While spatial overlap is commonly used to quantify interactions, it may underestimate the true degree of competition between foraging predators and fishing vessels. Our alternative population-level m...
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World Seabird Union @worldseabirdunion.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
✈️ WSC4 Travel Awards are here! Supporting students, early-career researchers & conservation practitioners to attend the 4th World Seabird Conference. 📅 Apply 1 Oct 2025 – 15 Jan 2026 More info on the Registration page. 🔗https://bit.ly/4nAYG4j #WSC4 #Seabirds #Research
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Steffen Oppel @steffopp.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
NEW PAPER in #ornithology summarizes why #seabirds are so important to the ecosystem of #islands and what knowledge gaps remain: buff.ly/rHuNnOr
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Diversity and Distributions @consbiog.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
New paper by @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social and @iomarinescience.bsky.social is out! 🐦🌊 #Genomics uncovers striking genetic #differentiation and taxonomic uncertainties in a tropical #seabird across the Western Indian Ocean. 🧬 Learn more 👉 doi.org/10.1111/ddi....
©️Photo by Quentin d’Orchymont
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Lancaster University @lancasteruni.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Seabirds act as powerful connectors between marine and terrestrial ecosystems - and protecting them can help tackle the crises of climate change, failing ocean health, and biodiversity loss, according to a new study published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity 🐦
lancaster.ac.uk
Global study reveals seabirds as critical connectors between islands, the ocean and people - Lancaster University
A new global synthesis published today in Nature Reviews Biodiversity reveals how seabirds act as powerful connectors between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and why protecting seabirds is a powerful opportunity when tackling the triple crises of climate change, failing ocean health, and biodivers...
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
New in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com: our review of the influence of #seabirds, via their nutrient transfer, on islands & adjacent marine ecosystems 🐦🏝️🪸 We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨ "The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...
Schematic diagram of the influence of seabirds on temperate and tropical near-shore marine systems.
Temperatre systems:
- Nutrient enrichment and predation on herbivorous invertebrates can lead to increased algal production
- Phytoplankton communities change, featuring more large-celled species
- Intertidal organisms incorporate seabird-enriched material by grazing on detritus and biofilm in tidepools
- Macroalgae biodiversity and primary production are boosted
Tropical systems:
- Mangrove leaf nutritional quality increases
- Corals recover faster after bleaching events
- Fish biomass increases across different trophic groups
- Pelagic and benthic consumers' foraging behaviour shifts
- Parrotfish grazing and bioerosion rates increase
- Fish grow larger
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Sal Keith (she/her) @salkeith.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
@ruchakarkarey.bsky.social is in Vogue India! Great article about India's women marine defenders www.vogue.in/content/once...
vogue.in
Indian women used to be afraid of the ocean. Now, they’re turning into its strongest defenders
Along India’s coastline, a rising wave of women is healing our oceans, moving beyond the margins of shore-bound roles traditionally ascribed to them
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 03/10/2025
Temporal Variation in Early-Life Conditions Impacts on Later-Life Levels of Infection in Sex Specific Ways | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶
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Cassie Speakman @cassiespeakman.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
The latest paper from the DISCAR synthesis group is out at Ecology Letters! We discuss the key approaches to predicting human impacts on wildlife populations, highlighting avenues for incorporating indirect effects, such as energetic modelling. doi.org/10.1111/ele....
Title and author list for the synthesis paper titled "Understanding and Predicting Population Response to Anthropogenic Disturbance: Current Approaches and Novel Opportunities" published in Ecology Letters.
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Maija Karala @maijakarala.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
#SciArtSeptember 1: Islet Somewhere in the waves of Barents Sea, a rocky islet acts as a perch for seabirds. Puffins, guillemots, razorbills and skuas are still here, though threatened by heating oceans and spreading disease. With them sits a lonely ghost of a great auk that once roamed these seas.
A simple landscape illustration with a grey-green ocean, a dark grey rocky islet partly covered by orange lichen and a light grey overcast sky. On and around the islet are seabirds of several species, most pictured realistically in colour. The largest bird is a now-extinct great auk, depicted as a semi-translucent white ghost figure.
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IFLScience @iflscience.com · 10/08/2025
Bird-borne cameras revealed that boobies might catch more fish in the air than in the sea. www.iflscience.com/ride-on-boar...
iflscience.com
Ride On Board A Red-Footed Booby As It Catches Flying Fish Above The Indian Ocean
Bird-borne cameras revealed that boobies might catch more fish in the air than in the sea.
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Elizabeth Preston @inkfish.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
You know this story is going to be a good time because my editor told me the first draft had too many instances of the word "poop" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/s... 🧪 (featuring Leo Uesaka, @ruthedunn.bsky.social‬ and @movementecology.bsky.social)
nytimes.com
These Majestic Seabirds Never Stop Pooping
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Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
I have a real shitshow of a science story here for all my friends: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/thes...
scientificamerican.com
This Superpooper Seabird Is Amazing Scientists
The first detailed observation of the bathroom habits of Streaked Shearwaters at sea leave scientists with a surprising load of questions
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 11/08/2025
Homing navigation is optimized to diurnal constraints in a tropical seabird, the red-footed booby | doi.org/10.1016/j.an... | Animal Behaviour | #ornithology 🪶
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Lila Buckingham @lilabuckingham.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Do you use geolocators to estimate foraging time, behaviour, or energetics in diving seabirds? See our new paper for insights from a study of Common Guillemots. doi.org/10.61350/sbj... @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social
A graphical abstract depicting the paper title, author list, and brief description of the paper. One images displays an adult common gullemot with one logger on each leg, next to a chick. The second image displays a close-up of a common guillemot's legs with both loggers shown. The text reads: 
An improved method to derive behavioural budgets and energetics from geolocator data in Common Guillemots Uria aalge
Lila Buckingham, Maria Bogdanova, Francis Daunt, Robert Furness, Sophie Bennett, Ruth Dunn, David Jardine, Mark Newell, Ewan Weston & Jonathan Green
We deployed two devices (time-depth recorder & geolocator) on 39 Common Guillemots for one non-breeding season.
We allocated time to behaviours using 1) both devices (see Buckingham et al. 2023) and 2) only geolocators, following previous methods. 
We compared the behavioural budgets. We could not extract foraging behaviour (diving) when only using geolocator data.
We devised an improved method for estimating behaviours and energetics in Common Guillemots using geolocator data. We also provide guidance for studies of other diving seabirds that rest at sea.
Photos by Andrew Carter
Seabird 37 (2025) Early Release
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Martin George @jannerbirder.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
“When researchers fitted tiny cameras to the backs of two Red-footed Boobies, they got an intimate view of exactly how these acrobatic #seabirds hunt.” Press release and link to open access paper here: www.hw.ac.uk/news/2025/on... www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts...
discoverwildlife.com
Tropical birds filmed catching flying fish mid-air for first time ever | Discover Wildlife
When researchers fitted tiny cameras to the backs of red-footed boobies, they got an intimate view of exactly how these acrobatic seabirds hunt.
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
New research led by @alicetrevail.bsky.social combines tracking data to show the value of large marine protected areas in encompassing diverse megafauna movements 🐢 doi.org/10.1111/1365... @jappliedecology.bsky.social @iomarinescience.bsky.social @exetermarine.bsky.social @zslofficial.bsky.social
Photos of a reef manta ray, red-footed booby, and a hawsbill turtles with biologging devices attached to them. The journal logo is also featured, alongside the article title and author list. Some text reads: "Tracking data reveal that very large marine protected areas offer protection for mobile marine megafauna including benthic foragers (turtles), pelagic planktivores (manta ray), and oceanic predators (seabirds)".
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Nice little thread on some of our recent red-footed booby work 💨👇
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Lancaster University @lancasteruni.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Using lightweight bird-borne cameras, scientists have captured unique footage of Indian Ocean seabirds speeding just above the waves to catch flying fish. Dr Ruth Dunn (@ruthedunn.bsky.social) of @lec-reefs.bsky.social is lead author of the study. 📰: tinyurl.com/yezeyxu2
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Ruth Dunn @ruthedunn.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
"Commuting in crosswinds and foraging in fast winds: the foraging ecology of a flying fish specialist" 💨🐦🐟 New @iomarinescience.bsky.social research out now in @royalsocietypublishing.org: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... 📸 @robinfreeman.bsky.social 🧪🌍🪶
Composite image of the Proceedings B journal title, the manuscript title and the author list, alongside an image of a red-footed booby flying amongst palm trees. Some text reads: "Winds shape the behavioural decisions of red-footed boobies, impacting their foraging commutes and feeding behaviour".
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Laura-Li Jeannot @lljeannot.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
New paper out in Proceedings B! 🔊 Seabirds' impacts on reefs extends even to some of its tiniest inhabitants - cryptobenthic reef fishes 🐠 Near colonies, these fishes assimilate seabird nutrients (💩), grow larger 📈 & more at: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... @royalsocietypublishing.org
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IO Marine Science @iomarinescience.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Our Indian Ocean marine science programme supports established researchers and has a major focus on training the next generation of ocean scientists. A big congratulations to all our recent PhD Graduates for 2024! #PhDGraduates #Doctor #MarineScience #MarineBiology #Scientists
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Journal of Applied Ecology @jappliedecology.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Our Special Feature with @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social is now available to read! 🌎🧪 This collection aims to combine the latest insights and provide an integrated road map for ecologically optimal decisions on the energy transition 🛰️ Check it out 👇 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/global-e...
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Yannis Papastamatiou @dr-yannis.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
New paper lead by @etspencer.bsky.social We use biologging to understand why great hammerheads may specialize on large prey like other sharks. If they hunt blacktips off south Florida then they probably only have to catch a shark once per month link.springer.com/journal/442
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Erin Spencer, PhD @etspencer.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Proud to share that my second dissertation chapter is now published in Oecologia! Great hammerheads often eat other elasmobranchs, which suggests there must be some kind of advantage to going after big prey instead of smaller fish. (1/4)🦑🧪🌊🐟
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UKCEHseabirds @ukcehseabirds.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Isle of May #seabirdpride 2025. @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social
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André Bellvé @andrebellve.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Stoked to finally see this one out in the wide world: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... Tube-nosed #seabirds in #Aotearoa #NewZealand have been largely driven extinct on the mainland, since the arrival of humans. Our paper shows just how dramatic this collapse likely was...(1/4)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Burrowing Into the Past: Extending Niche Space Models of Procellariiform Breeding Grounds by Merging Fossil and Historic Data
Aim Predicting species' potential distributions and niches requires multi-scale data encompassing the past and present. Increasingly, researchers have advocated using historical context to inform ec...
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marineronan.bsky.social @marineronan.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
New paper out! Understanding the relative importance of nutrient transfer pathways on coral reefs. Revealing work led by @ruthedunn.bsky.social and available #OpenAccess in Coral Reefs #ecology #coralReefs
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