Jack is a Senior Research Ecologist at BTO specialising in bioacoustics. His work focuses on analysing large-scale acoustic datasets to understand spatial and temporal changes in animal populations across the UK and Europe.
Principally a behavioural ecologist, his research prior to joining BTO centred on long-term individual-based studies of mammals in the Kalahari Desert. Across a range of systems - including social carnivores, seabirds and small mammals - he has used large ecological and bio-logging datasets to investigate topics such as cooperative breeding, behavioural plasticity, habitat selection, climate–demography relationships and population responses to environmental change.
At BTO, he applies this behavioural and quantitative background to the analysis and interpretation of large-scale bioacoustic monitoring data.
Interests and responsibilities
Jack primarily works on the analysis and interpretation of bioacoustic monitoring data and end-to-end reporting from large-scale monitoring programmes. He currently applies passive acoustic monitoring to evaluate the ecological outcomes of landscape restoration projects.
His interests include social behaviour and population dynamics, acoustic monitoring of biodiversity change, linking behavioural processes to demographic outcomes, and developing robust, reproducible analytical workflows for large ecological datasets.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Natural Sciences with Industrial Placement Year, University of Bath, 2012.
- Msc Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Imperial College London, 2013.
- PhD Zoology, University of Cambridge, ‘The life history of Damaraland mole-rats: growth, behaviour, and ageing’, 2018.
Other publications
- Thorley J, Clutton-Brock T, Spence-Jones H, Turner Z, Sharp SP, Manser MB, Boner W, Gillespie & Cram DL. 2025. The ecology of gestational growth in a wild cooperative mammal. J. Anim. Ecol. 95: 257-269.
- Thorley J, Duncan C, Manser MB & Clutton-Brock T. 2025. Linking climate variability to demography in cooperatively breeding meerkats. Ecol. Mono. 95(2): e70021.
- Thorley J, Duncan C, Gaynor D, Manser MB & Clutton-Brock T. 2025. Disentangling the effects of temperature and rainfall on the population dynamics of Kalahari meerkats. Oikos 5:e10988.
- Thorley J, Bensch HM, Finn K, Clutton-Brock T Zöttl M. 2023. Damaraland mole-rats do not rely on helpers for reproduction or survival. Evol. Lett. 7(4):203-215.