Investigating the cognitive ecology of the European nightjar

Description

This project aims to use new, state-of-the-art tracking technology to track at very high resolution the movements of first-time and experienced breeding nightjars from shortly after they arrive from migration. Much of the remaining heathland where nightjars breed is (increasingly) patchily distributed and nightjars often commute over unsuitable urban environments to reach discrete foraging patches. The aim is to understand how nightjars learn where resources in these patchy landscapes are, the ecological barriers that constrain the routes they form between them, and the spatial cognition that they use to navigate across this heterogeneous landscape. 

Objectives

The student will have access to several years’ GPS-tracking data (2018-2023) from several heathland sites in the Poole basin (Dorset), but the main project will be to work with an industrial partner, Lotek, to set up and use Automated Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) systems across the heathland sites in the area. As well as setting up base stations, this will also involve catching nightjars and fitting them with VHF transmitters. By using ARDF, we can record at very high temporal resolution (every ~2 secs) the location of nightjars carrying these tags. The system is ideal for observing how nightjars develop their routes across the landscape (e.g. whether spontaneous short-cuts are used - a signature of sophisticated spatial cognition). The project will also involve working with an end-use stakeholder, WH White (who co-fund the project), to inform sustainable planning.

Novelty and timeliness

The novel use of ARDF to collect high resolution data on the breeding movements of a mobile bird in unprecedented detail and will allow us to understand the spatial cognition of a highly mobile bird (inferences normally restricted to laboratory animals navigating in mazes). By revealing the mechanisms under-pinning space-use we can also understand urban barriers that reduce availability of resources in the landscape. Potential applications of the work are timely owing to current pressure to develop heath-adjacent sites to alleviate the housing crisis.

Candidate profile

The candidate must have a 2:1 in a degree in a relevant subject (either biology/zoology/ecology or engineering with some interest in biology). The candidate must have some quantitative skills and be open to considerable quantitative and technological components of the project. The candidate must also be open to the prospect of long periods of fieldwork, often at night.

Desirable knowledge and skills

It is desirable but not essential for the candidate to have some experience with any of: (i) computing technology hardware such as raspberry pis, (ii) biotelemetry in the field; (iii) analysis of animal movement data; (iv) bird handling (ringing) experience, but training in all of these aspects will be provided on the project.