Career Insights: Becoming an Ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology
Explore the journey of Cat Morrison, a Research Ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and discover the impactful work done at the Nunnery in Thetford. Learn about citizen science initiatives, ecological research projects, and the key skills required for a successful career in this field.
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Ecological research careers BES undergraduate conference 2014 Cat Morrison Research Ecologist British Trust for Ornithology
The Nunnery, Thetford Established in 1933. Charitable research institute. Combine professional and citizen science to provide evidence of change in wildlife populations. Inform the public, policy and decision-makers. Impartiality enables our data and information to be used both by Government and NGO campaigners.
Citizen science at the BTO Over 40,000 volunteer birdwatchers. Long-term datasets some in excess of 50 years: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Abundance. Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) Abundance of waterbirds. Demographic monitoring: Ringing data > 2000 ringers: Survival and productivity Movements Nest Record Scheme (NRS) Breeding success
Ecological research at the BTO Ecological change Monitoring Wetland & Marine Research International Research Land-use Research Modelling & Demography Demography Population Ecology and Modelling
My route to the BTO 1999 2003: BSc. Zoology
My route to the BTO 1999 2003: BSc. in Zoology 2005 - 2006: Masters in Environmental biology 2007 - 2011: PhD in understanding population declines in migrant birds Research ecologist in modelling and demography unit 2012 - now:
Key skills of a BTO research ecologist Strong analytical skills SAS, R & GIS Strong fieldwork skills bird id, ringing Experience of ecological survey design Scientific and non-scientific writing skills. Good time management Communication Collaboration internal and external Enthusiasm
Phenology project 3 months Aim: Explore the potential to use ringing data to look at timing of moult. What data is available? What questions can I use these data to answer? o Scope of these data o What are the relevant questions in the field? How do I analyse these data? What do the results mean? What is the angle of the paper? Write paper and get feedback from rest of demography team Presentation to ringers Submit paper
Ecologists at the BTO Research officer BSc in zoology from University of Glasgow. 3 years at environmental consultancy. At the BTO - working on environmental impacts of renewable energy developments. DavidStill Breeding Bird Survey national organiser BSc in zoology from University of Nottingham. At the BTO runs the BBS; maintaining the BBS database, producing the annual report, promoting the scheme, liaising with BBS volunteer surveyors. Kate Risely
Ecologists at the BTO Head of Information Systems PhD in invertebrate ecology from University of Durham. MSc in information technology from University of Glasgow. At the BTO works on the development of methods to streamline our collection of survey data via the web. Iain Downie Development officer Bsc Ecology from University of East Anglia Post-graduate field research, examining dependency of Ghanaian rainforest communities on non-timber forest products. At the BTO - contract management and procurement Emily Colman
