Qualifications
- PhD: The influence of resource variability on the movement behaviour of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) across spatiotemporal scales
2015–2022 - Professional: PGCertHE Stages 1 & 2
2018 - BSc: Zoology with Animal Behaviour
2013
Teaching and Supervision
During my time at Bangor, I have developed a varied portfolio of teaching activity. I have successfully completed my Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE) Stage 2, and I am a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am Course Director for the new Zoology with Animal Management degree programme (beginning September 2022: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/c335-zoology-with-animal-management) and module coordinator for associated core modules; Animal Management, Advances in Animal Management and Animal Husbandry Placement. I am passionate about enhancing student employability in the animal care sector, and have developed teaching and placement provision down at our University Farm, Henfaes Research Centre. The core modules within the Zoology with Animal Management degree have been developed with input from a number of external professionals within the industry, including; Welsh Mountain Zoo, Chester Zoo, Anglesey Sea Zoo and Knowsley Safari Park. I also supervise third year Undergraduate dissertations, I am Module Organiser for BSX-1030 Practical Skills 1 and I also contribute to the following modules:
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Practical Skills 2 (BSX-1031)
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BioScience Skills (BSX-2021)
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Tutorials Year One (BSX-1028)
Research Interests
The main aim of my research is to gain an understanding of the key drivers of African elephant movement in relation to resource availability in the highly dynamic savanna ecosystem. I am particularly interested in how elephant family groups respond to periods of resource scarcity, and their facultative responses to changing conditions. I am currently analysing their movement patterns; in particular, their home ranges, habitat selection and movement rates in conjunction with season and resource availability.
Through my research, I have formed collaborations with a number of prominent international institutions, including; Space for Elephants Foundation, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Kruger National Park Scientific Services, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa. I am currently in the process of finalising two articles for publication, and have presented my work orally at two major international conferences in my field (12th International Mammalogical Congress, 2017 and the BioMove Symposium, 2018).
Publications
2022
- PublishedSeasonal range fidelity of a megaherbivore in response to environmental change
Burton-Roberts, R., Cordes, L., Slotow, R., Vanak, A. T., Thaker, M., Govender, N. & Shannon, G., 22 Dec 2022, In: Scientific Reports.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
2018
- Seasonal movement patterns of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in response to resource availability
20 Oct 2018
Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker) - Seasonal movement patterns of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in response to resource availability
26 Sep 2018 – 28 Sep 2018
Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker)
2017
- Intraspecific home range variation of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in response to resource availability
9 Jul 2017 – 14 Jul 2017
Activity: Oral presentation (Speaker)
2016
- Conserving the endemic Cichlid fish species of Tanzanian crater lakes
28 Apr 2016
Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)