Senior Research Ecologist
Role and responsibilities
James is the Senior Research Ecologist for BTO Northern Ireland. He is working as a part of the ACCLIMATISE project, a project funded through PEACEPLUS which aims to bring together various partners from the UK and Ireland to better inform the sustainable use our shared waters.
Interests
James has worked as a seabird ecologist at sites around the world since 2015. From 2017 to 2020 he worked with BirdLife Malta, studying the effects of invasive non-native species and island restoration on breeding shearwaters and petrels. He then worked with the British Antarctic Survey, monitoring albatross populations on Bird Island. James first moved to Northern Ireland in 2022, as a RSPB Conservation Scientist on Rathlin Island. He then worked with the National Trust for Scotland as a Seabird Ecologist focusing on HPAI and island biosecurity before taking up the Senior Research Ecologist role with BTO NI.
He is interested in exploring the use of innovative techniques and technologies like rope access and UAVs to facilitate the study and conservation of bird populations.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Immunology, University of Glasgow, 2013
- MSc Ecology and Conservation, Lancaster University, 2016
Other publications
Austad, M., Oppel, S., Crymble, J., Greetham, H. R., Sahin, D., Lago, P., ... & Quillfeldt, P. 2023. The effects of temporally distinct light pollution from ships onnocturnal colony attendance in a threatened seabird. Journal of Ornithology, 164(3), 527-536.
Crymble, J., Mula-Laguna, J., Austad, M., Borg, J. J., Sultana, J., Barbara, N., ... & Metzger, B. 2020. Identifying light-induced grounding hotspots for Maltese seabirds.
Crymble, J., Austad, M., Cachia, D., Borg, J. J., Galea, R. & Mallia, M. 2020. New breeding sites of Yellow-legged Gull around the Maltese Islands.