Rathlin - Life Raft project
During my postgraduate internship, I developed an occupancy model to identify rodent and ferret hotspots using data from camera traps and live trapping. This work supported the RSPB’s Rathlin: Life Raft project and aimed to improve strategies for the effective control and eradication of invasive species.
Sanje mangabeys (Cercocebus sanjei)
My Bachelor’s and Master’s research focused on the conservation and disease ecology of the endangered Sanje mangabey (Cercocebus sanjei), endemic to the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. My first study examined the drivers of geophagy, or deliberate soil consumption. The findings suggest that geophagy may be a strategy to reduce gastrointestinal distress associated with diets high in fructose and low in polysaccharides, particularly in human-provisioned primate groups. I then investigated the epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Sanje mangabeys. Although the species has a relatively high infant mortality rate of about 39%, previous explanations such as maternal nutritional imbalance, infanticide, and predation account for only part of this mortality. Most infant deaths occurred during the early dry season, when tick infestations are highest. This research therefore explored whether tick-borne infections may contribute to infant mortality and pose an additional threat to the survival of this endangered species.
Conservation Science Internship
During my internship at Bristol Zoological Society, my responsibilities included conducting social network analysis of lowland western gorillas to help improve captive breeding programs; modelling environmental factors influencing chimpanzee nest-site selection in Cameroon to support forest protection schemes; reviewing community-based well-being projects in Madagascar; and applying non-invasive survey techniques, including bioacoustics, camera traps, and faecal DNA analysis, to study the Negros bleeding-heart dove in the Philippines.
Natural Science Internship
During my internship at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, my duties included supporting domestic and international taxonomy projects involving the Bourton’s Diptera collection from East Africa, South Asia, and the UK; the herbarium collections of Jamaica and the UK; and the cataloguing and maintenance of additional collections, including amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, fungi, and intestinal parasites.