Animals face many challenges as increased urbanization impacts their ability to survive\u00a0and reproduce. Nowhere is this more evident than in migratory birds. Throughout Europe\u00a0evidence indicates that populations of migratory birds are declining. Many anthropogenic\u00a0influences are implicated, such as land use and climate change. However, recently, a\u00a0new and surprising potential hazard to bird migration has emerged. A recent discovery\u00a0revealed that anthropogenically produced electromagnetic noise (EMN) such as that\u00a0produced by electrical items or AM radio towers disrupted normal orientation of migratory\u00a0songbirds. Specifically, it was the ability to use the magnetic compass that was disrupted.\u00a0Given that the ability to orient and navigate thousands of miles between breeding and\u00a0winter grounds is a crucial aspect of migratory behaviour, it is imperative that we\u00a0understand how this EMN impacts their ability to plot a safe migratory course in the wild.\u00a0This project will investigate how the magnetic compass is integrated into the navigation\u00a0system of migrating birds, and how disrupting that with EMN affects their ability to orient.\u00a0It will use experimental techniques to study animal behaviour in controlled conditions with\u00a0varying access to environmental cues. Through collaboration with CASE partner the\u00a0British Trust for Ornithology it will also use ecological analyses to assess how EMN may\u00a0impact on current migratory routes. Hosted in the School of Biological sciences in Bangor\u00a0University, but with fieldwork components in Austria and with the BTO across the UK and\u00a0potentially beyond, the project will provide training in both experimental and field based\u00a0skills, statistical and ecological analysis, and the application of physics to understand\u00a0biological systems. The successful candidate will become a highly skilled interdisciplinary\u00a0graduate with skills in experimental analysis of behaviour, field skills in ornithology,\u00a0analysis of ecological metadata and the application of physics to biological systems.<\/p>\n
Applicants should hold a minimum of a 2:1 degree in a biological or environmental\u00a0science discipline. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the project, those holding a\u00a0physical sciences degree with relevant experience and a desire to work in biological\u00a0sciences are also welcome to apply. Experience of fieldwork on or of handling wild birds\u00a0is highly desirable (although not essential), particularly if the applicant is training for or in\u00a0possession of a BTO ringers permit.<\/p>\n
For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Richard Holland (r.holland@bangor.ac.uk<\/a>, tel:\u00a0+44 1248382344, twitter: @bgyraho<\/a>, https:\/\/www.bangor.ac.uk\/biology\/staff\/richardholland.php.en<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Animals face many challenges as increased urbanization impacts their ability to survive\u00a0and reproduce. Nowhere is this more evident than in migratory birds. Throughout Europe\u00a0evidence indicates that populations of migratory birds are declining. Many anthropogenic\u00a0influences are implicated, such as land use and climate change. However, recently, a\u00a0new and surprising potential hazard to bird migration has emerged.… Read More »Effects of electromagnetic noise on the orientation of migratory birds<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":5822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[51],"tags":[13,44],"class_list":["post-5821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-51","tag-bangor","tag-case"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/files\/2017\/10\/Richard-Holland-Image-400x400px.jpg?fit=400%2C400","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8kFzn-1vT","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5823,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5821\/revisions\/5823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/envision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}