Rachel Reid
Email: 2203824r@student.gla.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1869-9676
Research title: Assessing effects of urbanization and artificial light on birds' welfare
Research Summary
My research aims to investigate the impacts of anthropogenic stressors such as light pollution, noise pollution and food availability on the health of the great tit. I will achieve this through exposing both nestling and adult great tits to manipulated levels of anthropogenic stressors both in captivity and in the field. I will then examine how this impacts their physiological stress levels, immune response, telomere attrition as well as body condition and plumage colouration.
I am also interested in investigating how urbanisation affects the health of birds over time through taking samples from individual birds at various points over their lifetime and tracking any declines in health.
Supervisors
Conference
Annual Scottish Ecology, Environment and Conservation Conference for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Research - University of Glasgow (8th April 2019)
Poster presentation entitled "Elephant impact on woody vegetation in a South African game reserve and its effects on the browsing behaviour of other herbivores"
Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology Symposium (6th August 2020)
Presentation entitled "The relationship between habitat characteristics, food availability and the reproductive success of blue tits and great tits along a rural-urban gradient"
