Research

Research

A northern fulmar and chick on a nest on Eynhallow, OrkneyOur research aims to understand how natural and man-made changes in environmental conditions influence the biology of marine wildlife populations.

This work has been underpinned by the development and maintenance of long-term individual based studies of harbour seal, bottlenose dolphin and fulmar populations in the North of Scotland, with comparative studies conducted at a range of overseas sites across the North Atlantic, North Pacific and South America.

Collaborations at the interface between ecology and other disciplines have resulted in some of our most important discoveries about the biology of these populations. Other collaborations have involved groups working on harbour seals and bottlenose dolphins in contrasting environments, extending assessments of the influence of environmental conditions on ecology, epidemiology and social structure.