School of Biosciences

Lesser Black-backed Gull giving an alarm call at the breeding colony on Flat Holm.

During the last five years my research has focussed on three main areas. The first involves factors affecting the colour and pattern of bird plumage, especially social selection (Ferns 2003, Ferns and Lang 2003, Hinsley et al. 2003, Ferns and Hinsley 2004, Ferns et al. 2005, Ferns and Hinsley 2007). These studies have shown that such selection, especially sexual selection, can play an important part in the evolution of bold and contrasting plumage patterns, because the latter reveal and amplify a range of different qualities amongst the individuals possessing them. Such qualities include the ability to avoid injury during fights with conspecifics and encounters with predators, to forage efficiently, to moult at the optimum speed and to select good habitat for breeding.

The second area of research involves co-operative studies on the environmental impact of human activities on bird populations, especially habitat loss and environmental pollution (Al Mansour et al. 2005, Goss-Custard et al. 2006 - 2 papers, and Jagannath et al. 2007). The third involves comparative analyses of the reproductive and life history strategies of insects (Jervis and Ferns 2004, Jervis et al. - 4 papers).