Postgraduate research students

My research invloves the study of owls to investigate changes in the behaviour of nocturnal species in response to urbanisation, with a focus on the impact of roads, noise and light pollution.

By using the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) as study system, I'm currently investigating whether and how road proximity as well as sensory pollutans (anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night) affect owl breeding, spatial and movement behaviour. To do this, I work with Tawny Owls breeding in nestboxes across Scotland and I use biologgers to investigate their behaviour.

Orlando, G., Varesio, A., & Chamberlain, D. (2021). Field evaluation for playback surveys: species- specific detection probabilities and distance estimation errors in a nocturnal bird community. Bird Study, 68(1):78-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2021.1968790

Orlando, G., & Chamberlain, D. (2023). Tawny Owl Strix aluco Distribution in the Urban Landscape: The Effect of Habitat, Noise and Light Pollution. Acta Ornithologica, 57(2), 167-179. https://doi.org/10.3161/00016454AO2022.57.2.005

Orlando, G., Passarotto, A., Morosinotto, C., Ahola, K., Karstinen, T., Brommer, J. E., ... & Karell, P. (2023). Changes in over-winter prey availability, rather than winter climate, are associated with a long- term decline in a northern Tawny Owl population. Journal of Ornithology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02085-5

Orlando, G., Passarotto, A., Morosinotto, C., Dominoni, D. M., & Karell, P. (2025). Experimental Exposure to Noise Affects Hunting Behavior Already From a Young Age in a Nocturnal Acoustic Predator. Ecology and Evolution, 15(10), e72171. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72171

• Dr Davide Dominoni
• Dr Luca Nelli

NERC IAPETUS2 Scholarship 2022 (Application Ref: 01021537) to conduct a PhD at the University of Glasgow

European Ornithologists’ Union (EOU) Congress – Giessen, March 2022: e-poster “Tawny Owl distribution in the urban nightscape: the effects of urban intensity, noise and artificial light at night” (the abstract was accepted for a talk, which then was cancelled due to Congress cancellation because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

European Ornithologists’ Union (EOU) Congress – Lund, August 2023: poster presentation “Anthropogenic noise lowers prey detection in acoustic predators: an experiment on developing juvenile Tawny Owls (Strix aluco)”.

Italian Ornithological Congress – Varese, September 2023: oral presentation “Anthropogenic noise lowers prey detection in acoustic predators: an experiment on developing juvenile Tawny Owls (Strix aluco)”.

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) Annual Conference – Nottingham, April 2024: oral presentation “Owls living in the city: effect of urban cover, noise and light pollution on breeding Tawny Owls (Strix aluco) along a forest-urban gradient”.

European Ornithologists’ Union (EOU) Congress – Bangor, August 2025: oral presentation “Noisy but illuminated areas near roads create attractive habitats for a common nocturnal raptor”.

Graduate Teaching Assistant (part-time Demonstrator and part-time Tutor)

1) Zoology, Animal Biology, Marine & Freshwater Biology (Level 2)

- Bird diversity lab

- Wiki projects marking and grading

2) Zoology, Animal Biology, Marine & Freshwater Biology (Level 3)

- Animal behaviour projects

3) Environmental Biology (Level 1)

- Animal diversity lab

- Assignement marking and grading

- Careers tutorial