In my research, I seek to understand the mechanisms that determine how species respond to environmental change. To achieve this, I address questions within two principal themes (1) processes that shape population dynamics and (2) methods to improve realism in species monitoring and assessments. Specifically, I study the links between environmental variation and population dynamics, and how populations respond to extreme fluctuations in prey abundance. I investigate why life-history strategies vary between populations of the same species, and how we can use life-history theory to reconstruct population-specific strategies when empirical data are unavailable. I am also interested in demographic compensation and the evolution of life-history characteristics. To address these topics, I use fieldwork, biochemical analysis and advanced statistical modelling. I have worked extensively on the population dynamics of temperate and polar species of seabird, as well as the life history profiles of tunas and sharks.
Knowledge areas: Population ecology, Demography, Population monitoring, Seabirds, EIA, Modelling
Contact: catrsw@gmail.com
Background
2020-present: Springboard Fellow; ZSL Institute of Zoology and University College London
2020-present: Visiting Fellow; University of Cambridge
2018-2020: Visiting Researcher; University of Cambridge
2016-2020: Research Associate; University of Glasgow
2014-2016: Research Ecologist; British Trust for Ornithology
2010-2014: PhD Population Ecology; British Antarctic Survey, University of Liverpool and University of Glasgow
2008-2009: MSc Biosciences; University of Oxford
2002-2006: BSc Environmental Sciences with a year in Industry; University of East Anglia
Editorial Board
2019 – present: Avian Conservation and Ecology – Subject Editor
2016 – present: Ibis – Associate Editor
Committee Membership
2014 – 2018: British Ornithologist’s Union – Engagement and Conference Committees
Grant Advisory College
2015 – present: British Ecological Society
Cat Horswill 