Science Communications Manager
Office:
Thetford
Team(s):
Communications
Role and responsibilities
Viola is responsible for promoting BTO science. She also edits BTO News and oversees BTO media and social media.
Interests
Viola has been working full-time in science communications since 2015. Before then, she was a seabird ecologist for several years, and honed her communication skills tackling inaccurate coverage of gulls in the media. She holds a BTO C permit for bird ringing. Viola has also worked in campaigns for RSPB, in gibbon conservation in Thailand, and in policy for the European Institutions in Brussels.
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) Natural Sciences (Zoology), University of Cambridge
- PhD Pecking response in Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks Larus fuscus, Cardiff University
Recent BTO publications
- Thaxter, C.B., Quinn, L., Atkinson, P., Booth Jones, K.A., Clark, N.A., Clewley, G.D., Green, R.M.W., O'Hanlon, N.J., Johnston, D.T., Masden, E.A., Ross-Smith, V.H., Sage, E., Scragg, E., Taylor, R., Burton, N.K.H. & Humpreys, E.H. 2025. Breeding and foraging habitat are important in determining foraging ranges of sympatric generalist species. Ibis doi:10.1111/ibi.13446
- Gauld, J.G., Silva, J.P., Atkinson, P.W., Record, P., Acácio, M., Arkumarev, V., Blas, J., Bouten, W., Burton, N., Catry, I., Champagnon, J., Clewley, G.D., Dagys, M., Duriez, O., Exo, M., Fiedler, W., Flack, A., Friedemann, G., Fritz, J., Garcia-Ripolles, C., Garthe, S., Giunchi, D., Grozdanov, A., Harel, R., Humphreys, E.M., Janssen, R., Kölzsch, A., Kulikova, O., Lameris, T.K., López-López, P., Masden, E.A., Monti, F., Nathan, R., Nikolov, S., Oppel, S., Peshev, H., Phipps, L., Pokrovsky, I., Ross-Smith, V.H., Saravia, V., Scragg, E.S., Sforzi, A., Stoynov, E., Thaxter, C., Van Steelant, W., van Toor, M., Vorneweg, B., Waldenström, J., Wikelski, M., Žydelis, R. & Franco, A.M.A. 2022. Hotspots in the grid: avian sensitivity and vulnerability to collision risk from energy infrastructure interactions in Europe and north Africa. Journal of Applied Ecology 59: 1496-1512 doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14160
- Thaxter, C.B., Ross-Smith, V.H., Bouten, W., Clark, N.A., Conway, G.J., Masden, E.A., Clewley, G.D., Barber, L.J. & Burton, N.H.K. 2019. Avian vulnerability to wind farm collision through the year: insights from Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) tracked from multiple breeding colonies. Journal of Applied Ecology 2410-2422 doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13488
- Thaxter, C.B., Ross-Smith, V.H., Bouten, W., Masden, E.A., Clark, N.A., Conway, G.J., Barber, L., Clewley, G.D. & Burton, N.H.K. 2018. Dodging the blades: new insights into three-dimensional space use of offshore wind farms by lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 587: 247-253 doi:10.3354/meps12415
- Thaxter, C.B., Clark, N.A., Ross-Smith, V.H., Conway, G.J., Bouten, W. & Burton, N.K.H. 2017. Sample size required to characterize area use of tracked seabirds. The Journal of Wildlife Management 81: 1098-1109 doi:10.1002/jwmg.21283
- Thaxter, C.B., Ross-Smith, V.H., Clark, J.A., Clark, N.A., Conway, G.J., Masden, E.A., Wade, H.M., Leat, E.H.K., Gear, S.C., Marsh, M., Booth, C., Furness, R.W., Votier, S.C. & Burton, N.H.K. 2016. Contrasting effects of GPS device and harness attachment on adult survival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus and Great Skuas Stercorarius skua. Ibis 158: 279-290 doi:10.1111/ibi.12340
- Rock, P., Camphuysen, C.J., Shamoun-Baranes, J., Ross-Smith, V.H. & Vaughan, I.P. 2016. Results from the first GPS tracking of roof-nesting Herring Gulls Larus argentatus in the UK. Ringing & Migration 31: 47-62 doi:10.1080/03078698.2016.1197698
- Ross-Smith, V.H., Thaxter, C.B., Masden, E.A., Shamoun-Baranes, J., Burton, N.H.K., Wright, L.J., Rehfisch, M.M. & Johnston, A. 2016. Modelling flight heights of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Skuas from GPS: a Bayesian approach. Journal of Applied Ecology 53: 1676-1685 doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12760
Other publications
- Ross-Smith, V.H., Johnston, A. & Ferns, P.N. 2015. Hatching success in Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus – an island case study of the effects of egg and nest site quality. Seabird 28: 1–16.
- Ross-Smith, V.H., Conway, G.J., Facey, R.J., Bailey, B.H., Lipton, M., Whitfield, S.A. & Ferns, P.N. 2013. Population size, ecology and movements of gulls breedingon Flat Holm Island. Birds in Wales 10: 7–21.
- Ferns, P.N. & Ross-Smith, V.H. 2009. Function of coloured bill tips, stripes and spots in breeding gulls. Marine Ornithology 37: 85–92.