Associate Director, Research

Changes in bird populations and distributions are determined by demography, particularly the combination of survival and productivity. Rob's main interest lies in understanding how these processes operate, within an applied context, how the sum of individuals creates them and how they vary at different scales.
Much of his recent work at BTO has focussed on combining data from the Ringing and Nest Record Schemes with data on population changes to understand the reasons for population declines. and census schemes to understand the reasons for population declines. This work involves applying novel statistical methods to make better use of national data and contributes to BirdTrends, the annual assessment of Britain's bird populations.
Rob started research with a particular focus on farmland birds, how they use their food supply and how changes in agriculture have, and will, afect them; effects of demographic parameters vary spatially, both geographically and with environmental variables such as habitat; Rob also has an interest in the role that diseases play in bird populations.
Other information
- Chair, European Union of Ringing Schemes (EURING)
- Associate Editor, Ibis
- Honorary Reader, University of East Anglia
- Visiting Researcher, Swiss Ornithological Institute
- Scientific Chair of BOU 2014 Conference and Co-Chair Euring 2017 Analytical Meeting
- Member Nominated Trustee, BTO Assured Pension Scheme
BSc (Hons) Zoology, Edinburgh University, 1989-1993. PhD Ecology and conservation of farmland birds, University of East Anglia, 1993-1997.
Recent BTO Publications
- Morrison, C.A., Gill, J.A., Buchan, C., Robinson, R.A., Arizaga, J., Baltà, O., Baltag, E., Cepák, J., Henry, P.-Y., Henshaw, I.,Karcza, Z., Lehikoinen, P., Jorge Lopes, R., Meister, B., Pirello, S., Thorup, K. & Butler, S.J. 2025. How do synchrony in survival and productivity influence abundance synchrony in European landbirds?. Ecology Letters 28: doi:10.1111/ele.70105
- Johnston, D.T., Atkinson, P.W., Leech, E.I., Burton, N.H.K., Humphreys, E.M., Robinson, R.A., Blackburn, J.R., Blackburn, A.C., Brides, K., Boland, H., Burke, B., Daunt, F., Davies, J.C., Edwards, P.J., Furness, R.W., Holman, D., Redfern, C.P.F., Swann, R.L., Roper, P., Stansfield, S.D., Walsh, A.J. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W 2025. Using ring (band) recovery data to examine the impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) on wild bird populations. Bird Study 72: 39-50 doi:10.1080/00063657.2025.2491797
- Macgregor, C.J., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Siriwardena, G.M., Wilson, M.W. & Robinson, R.A. 2025. Assessment of recent Hen Harrier population trends in England through population modelling. BTO Research Report 774:
- Green, R.E., Taggart, M.A., Pain, D.J., Clark, N.A., Cromie, R., Dodd, S.G., Elliot, B., Green, R.M.W., Greenwood, L., Huntley, B., Leslie, R., Porter, R., Price, M., Roberts, J., Robinson, R.A., Smith, K.W., Smith, L., Spencer, J., David Stroud, D. & Thompson, T. 2025. The proportion of common pheasants shot using lead shotgun ammunition in Britain has barely changed over five years of voluntary efforts to switch from lead to non-lead ammunition. Conservation Evidence 22: 18-25 doi:10.52201/CEJ22/EXYS6184
- Boersch-Supan, P.H., Hanmer, H.J. & Robinson, R.A. 2024. Extended molt phenology models improve inferences about molt duration and timing. Ornithology 141: doi:10.1093/ornithology/ukae003
- Rivers, E.M., Short, M.J., Page, A., Potts, P.M., Hodder, K., Hoodless, A., Robinson, R. & Stillman, R. 2024. Factors influencing nest site selection in a rapidly declining shorebird, the Eurasian curlew. Journal of Avian Biology 2025: doi:10.1111/jav.03286
- Kirkland, M., Atkinson, P.W., Clark J.A. & Robinson, R.A. 2024. How effective has the management of Cockle and Mussel fisheries on The Wash estuary been in ensuring that there is sufficient food for birds?. BTO Research Report 770:
- Gardner, E., Robinson, R.A., Julian, A., Boughey, K., Langham, S., Tse-Leon, J., Petrovskii, S., Baker, D.J., Bellamy, C., Buxton, A., Franks, S., Monk, C., Morris, N., Park, K.J., Petrovan, S., Pitt, K., Taylor, R., Turner, R.K., Allain, S.J.R., Bradley, V., Broughton, R.K., Cartwright, M., Clarke, K., Cranfield, J., Fuentes-Montemayor, E., Gandola, R., Gent, T., Hinsley, S.A., Madsen, T., Reading, C., Redhead, J.W., Reveley, S., Wilkinson, J., Williams, C., Woodward, I., Baker, J., Briggs, P., Dyason, S., Langton, S., Mawby, A., Pywell, R.F. & Bullock, J.M. 2024. A family of process-based models to simulate landscape use by multiple taxa. Landscape Ecology 39: doi:10.1007/s10980-024-01866-4
- Davies, J.G., Dytham, C., Robinson, R.A. & Beale, C.M. 2024. Estimating the distribution of reed <em>Phragmites australis</em> in Britain demonstrates challenges of remotely sensing rare habitat types at large spatial scales. Scientific Reports 14: doi:10.1038/s41598-024-73030-6
- Bowler, D.E., Boyd, R.J., Callaghan, C.T., Robinson, R.A., Isaac, N.J.B. & Pocock, M.J.O. 2024. Treating gaps and biases in biodiversity data as a missing data problem. Biological Reviews 100: 50-67 doi:10.1111/brv.13127