Keith C Hamer
@keithchamer.bsky.social
Ecologist and seabird biologist, now happily retired
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Direct publisher link:
academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...
academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...
Plan ahead, or wing it? How storm-petrel parents adjust food delivery to young chicks
New technology reveals how storm-petrels choose to allocate more food to their single chick as it grows older. These pelagic seabirds fly hundreds of kilom
academic.oup.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Direct publisher link:
academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...
academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
📢 APPLICATIONS OPEN
For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants
Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference 🪶
Low-carbon travel encouraged
⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026
bou.org.uk/funding/m...
For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants
Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference 🪶
Low-carbon travel encouraged
⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026
bou.org.uk/funding/m...
November 7, 2025 at 9:30 AM
📢 APPLICATIONS OPEN
For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants
Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference 🪶
Low-carbon travel encouraged
⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026
bou.org.uk/funding/m...
For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants
Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference 🪶
Low-carbon travel encouraged
⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026
bou.org.uk/funding/m...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
🐦⬛ | Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a newly published study led by #EdNapier.
The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness.
Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf
#MustBeNapier
The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness.
Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf
#MustBeNapier
November 5, 2025 at 9:37 AM
🐦⬛ | Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a newly published study led by #EdNapier.
The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness.
Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf
#MustBeNapier
The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness.
Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf
#MustBeNapier
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
This is an exciting project as part of an exciting larger grant - excellent opportunity
I am recruting a #postdoc for a project investigating the evolution of avian heat tolerance in @erc.europa.eu project #HotLife. Fieldwork over broad latitudinal gradients, common-garden experiments, and more. Read more and apply👇
shorturl.at/WA1Qa
Would appreciate a re-post!
@evoldir.bsky.social
shorturl.at/WA1Qa
Would appreciate a re-post!
@evoldir.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
This is an exciting project as part of an exciting larger grant - excellent opportunity
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Victorian attitudes towards birds of prey in the UK are fueled by sensationalist fear-mongering like this, published routinely by mainstream media.
#RaptorResearch
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/28/a...
#RaptorResearch
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/28/a...
Absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles ‘snatched’ five Shetland ponies leads to inevitable call to ‘shoot eagles’
The absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles had ‘snatched’ five Shetland pony foals on South Uist hit the headlines at the end of August. A crofter / farmer named Donald Cameron said that…
raptorpersecutionuk.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Victorian attitudes towards birds of prey in the UK are fueled by sensationalist fear-mongering like this, published routinely by mainstream media.
#RaptorResearch
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/28/a...
#RaptorResearch
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/28/a...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
New in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com: our review of the influence of #seabirds, via their nutrient transfer, on islands & adjacent marine ecosystems 🐦🏝️🪸
We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨
"The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...
We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨
"The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...
October 27, 2025 at 7:49 AM
New in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com: our review of the influence of #seabirds, via their nutrient transfer, on islands & adjacent marine ecosystems 🐦🏝️🪸
We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨
"The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...
We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨
"The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Thanks for sharing these important findings from one of the biggest ever marking studies done on butterflies. We knew MF could colonise up to 10km in good years, but good to have this data on how sedentary they normally are. Large Blues not such a surprise as they wander widely in the Alps and UK.
Fascinating Swedish study proving that threatened butterflies can still disperse surprisingly long distances eg Marsh Fritillary >8km and more than 10% of Large Blues travelled at least 1km resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🌍
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Thanks for sharing these important findings from one of the biggest ever marking studies done on butterflies. We knew MF could colonise up to 10km in good years, but good to have this data on how sedentary they normally are. Large Blues not such a surprise as they wander widely in the Alps and UK.
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
This was a great paper to work with @tiff-ki.bsky.social and great to see it out now!
Really nice paper from @tiff-ki.bsky.social & co. shows no overall decline in butterfly species richness in Sulawesi over 166 yrs, but changing communities with endemics & forest specialists declining. Short-term trends unreliable measures of long term. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 🌏
October 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
This was a great paper to work with @tiff-ki.bsky.social and great to see it out now!
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
New Wadertales blog on an important IBIS paper from Jesse Conklin et al: the winter distribution of bar-tailed godwit subspecies is not what we thought:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/r...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#ornithology @wadertales.bsky.social @globalflyway.bsky.social
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/r...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#ornithology @wadertales.bsky.social @globalflyway.bsky.social
October 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM
New Wadertales blog on an important IBIS paper from Jesse Conklin et al: the winter distribution of bar-tailed godwit subspecies is not what we thought:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/r...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#ornithology @wadertales.bsky.social @globalflyway.bsky.social
wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/r...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#ornithology @wadertales.bsky.social @globalflyway.bsky.social
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
New work from @devisatarkar.bsky.social et al on how effects of climate variability- particularly more unusual events - depend on developmental stage & prevailing conditions in Wytham Woods great tits.
New preprint! 🪶
We analysed 60 years of data on 83,000+ great tits to show how extreme climate impacts on nestling growth and survival are stage-specific and context-dependent 🐣 🌍🔥❄️
With @davididiaquez.bsky.social @iremsepil.bsky.social @sheldonbirds.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We analysed 60 years of data on 83,000+ great tits to show how extreme climate impacts on nestling growth and survival are stage-specific and context-dependent 🐣 🌍🔥❄️
With @davididiaquez.bsky.social @iremsepil.bsky.social @sheldonbirds.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
New work from @devisatarkar.bsky.social et al on how effects of climate variability- particularly more unusual events - depend on developmental stage & prevailing conditions in Wytham Woods great tits.
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Why does a pigeon-sized bird purposely throw itself into hurricane-force winds?
With the help of lightweight GPS trackers, WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura has unlocked the Desertas petrel’s secret to success: cyclones!
📲 Find out what surprised researchers the most from BBC: go.whoi.edu/Petrel
With the help of lightweight GPS trackers, WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura has unlocked the Desertas petrel’s secret to success: cyclones!
📲 Find out what surprised researchers the most from BBC: go.whoi.edu/Petrel
October 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Why does a pigeon-sized bird purposely throw itself into hurricane-force winds?
With the help of lightweight GPS trackers, WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura has unlocked the Desertas petrel’s secret to success: cyclones!
📲 Find out what surprised researchers the most from BBC: go.whoi.edu/Petrel
With the help of lightweight GPS trackers, WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura has unlocked the Desertas petrel’s secret to success: cyclones!
📲 Find out what surprised researchers the most from BBC: go.whoi.edu/Petrel
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Such a sad story, but good that it can be told in full in museums now.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Fate of the last female great auk is finally solved
DNA and historical sleuthing have traced the extinct bird’s remains to a museum in Ohio
doi.org
October 7, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Such a sad story, but good that it can be told in full in museums now.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
For 101 years, ecologists have sought to explain the 3-4 years multi-annual cycles of voles and lemmings. In our paper, doi.org/10.1073/pnas..., we find that Density-dependent recruitment, but not survival drives cyclic dynamics in a field vole population, overturning accepted wisdom.
October 5, 2025 at 3:26 PM
For 101 years, ecologists have sought to explain the 3-4 years multi-annual cycles of voles and lemmings. In our paper, doi.org/10.1073/pnas..., we find that Density-dependent recruitment, but not survival drives cyclic dynamics in a field vole population, overturning accepted wisdom.
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
29 'missing' Hen Harriers & nearly 40 birds of prey poisoned, trapped or shot in Yorkshire Dales National Park since 2015.
Not so much a National Park - more of a National Disgrace.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology #Yorkshire
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/04/2...
Not so much a National Park - more of a National Disgrace.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology #Yorkshire
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/04/2...
29 ‘missing’ Hen Harriers & nearly 40 birds of prey poisoned, trapped or shot in Yorkshire Dales National Park since 2015
Media attention has been drawn to the Yorkshire Dales National Park this week, following the RSPB’s press release on the suspicious disappearance of a satellite-tagged Hen Harrier named ̵…
raptorpersecutionuk.org
October 4, 2025 at 2:49 PM
29 'missing' Hen Harriers & nearly 40 birds of prey poisoned, trapped or shot in Yorkshire Dales National Park since 2015.
Not so much a National Park - more of a National Disgrace.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology #Yorkshire
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/04/2...
Not so much a National Park - more of a National Disgrace.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology #Yorkshire
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/04/2...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Temporal Variation in Early-Life Conditions Impacts on Later-Life Levels of Infection in Sex Specific Ways | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶
October 3, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Temporal Variation in Early-Life Conditions Impacts on Later-Life Levels of Infection in Sex Specific Ways | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Natural England confirms ongoing & relentless illegal persecution is reason why Hen Harriers are still rare in England.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/02/h...
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/02/h...
Hardly any Hen Harrier nesting attempts on English grouse moors for second year running
Natural England has finally got around to publishing the data for the 2025 Hen Harrier breeding season, which demonstrate very clear differences between areas managed for conservation and those man…
raptorpersecutionuk.org
October 2, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Natural England confirms ongoing & relentless illegal persecution is reason why Hen Harriers are still rare in England.
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/02/h...
#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/02/h...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Still my favourite strand line discovery to date - a female Phronima sedentaria (‘monster in a barrel’) - Isles of Scilly, October 2023!
An amphipod crustacean, she parasitises salps, devouring them from the inside, forming a vessel to raise her young 👽
#MarineLife 🦑 #ukwildlife
An amphipod crustacean, she parasitises salps, devouring them from the inside, forming a vessel to raise her young 👽
#MarineLife 🦑 #ukwildlife
November 18, 2024 at 4:15 PM
Still my favourite strand line discovery to date - a female Phronima sedentaria (‘monster in a barrel’) - Isles of Scilly, October 2023!
An amphipod crustacean, she parasitises salps, devouring them from the inside, forming a vessel to raise her young 👽
#MarineLife 🦑 #ukwildlife
An amphipod crustacean, she parasitises salps, devouring them from the inside, forming a vessel to raise her young 👽
#MarineLife 🦑 #ukwildlife
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Only a few days to go… please share!!!
Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
September 28, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Only a few days to go… please share!!!
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
September 18, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Come & work with us - fully funded 4 year PhD on Social Ageing: Social environment effects on senescence, using an epigenetic clock www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor... @rug.nl @david-s-richardson.bsky.social @keesvanoers.bsky.social @seychelleswarbler.bsky.social photo: @charlisdavies.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Come & work with us - fully funded 4 year PhD on Social Ageing: Social environment effects on senescence, using an epigenetic clock www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor... @rug.nl @david-s-richardson.bsky.social @keesvanoers.bsky.social @seychelleswarbler.bsky.social photo: @charlisdavies.bsky.social
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
Prevalence and implications of sex reversal in free-living birds | royalsocietypublishi... | Biology Letters | #ornithology 🪶
Prevalence and implications of sex reversal in free-living birds | Biology Letters
The ability to unequivocally identify the sex and reproductive status of individuals
is crucial across many fields of study. Recent evidence indicates that avian sex determination
is more flexible than once believed, with sex-reversed individuals ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
September 17, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Prevalence and implications of sex reversal in free-living birds | royalsocietypublishi... | Biology Letters | #ornithology 🪶
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
🐧Early-growth trajectories affect juvenile survival, age at first reproduction and lifetime fitness in a long-lived seabird, the little penguin ➡️ buff.ly/vfGiKL8
September 10, 2025 at 12:04 PM
🐧Early-growth trajectories affect juvenile survival, age at first reproduction and lifetime fitness in a long-lived seabird, the little penguin ➡️ buff.ly/vfGiKL8
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
A lively and light hearted moth vs butterfly discussion on The Infinite Monkey Cage with @janehillyork.bsky.social, @chrisjiggins.bsky.social, Katy Brand, @profbriancox.bsky.social & Robin Ince.
Are you team butterfly or team moth 🦋💡?
Listen to the episode in full: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Are you team butterfly or team moth 🦋💡?
Listen to the episode in full: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Series 33 - Moths v Butterflies - Katy Brand, Jane Hill and Chris Jiggins - BBC Sounds
Brian Cox and Robin Ince adjudicate a fluttery face off!
www.bbc.co.uk
September 4, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A lively and light hearted moth vs butterfly discussion on The Infinite Monkey Cage with @janehillyork.bsky.social, @chrisjiggins.bsky.social, Katy Brand, @profbriancox.bsky.social & Robin Ince.
Are you team butterfly or team moth 🦋💡?
Listen to the episode in full: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Are you team butterfly or team moth 🦋💡?
Listen to the episode in full: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Keith C Hamer
New #AdriftLab paper celebrates what can be achieved through #LongTermMonitoring & #banding studies (send us a DM if you'd like a PDF) #NewPaper #seabirds #shearwaters #BreedingEcology #demography doi.org/10.1080/0158...
@seabirdsentinel.bsky.social
@thelabandfield.bsky.social
@seabirdsentinel.bsky.social
@thelabandfield.bsky.social
Age at first return of Sable Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes)
Long-term datasets are fundamental to the accurate estimation of demographic parameters for long-lived species. This is particularly the case for declining species where there is an imperative to i...
doi.org
September 4, 2025 at 10:37 AM