Dr Ruth Dunn

Lancaster University

Email: r.e.dunn@lancaster.ac.uk

Ruth is a Senior Research Associate working on the effects of seabird nutrients on coral reef ecology alongside Nick Graham and Casey Benkwitt. Previously, Ruth has completed a PhD in seabird behaviour and energetics at the University of Liverpool. She has also conducted postdoctoral research on the ecological importance of sharks at Florida International University, with a particular focus on the ecology of reef sharks and coral reef communities. Ruth is now looking forward to combining her knowledge of seabird energetics with coral reef ecology within her work at Lancaster Environment Centre.

Research Interests

Ruth enjoys investigating how energy flows propagate through marine systems, with a focus on the influence of marine predators such as seabirds. To do this, she uses statistical modelling to combine different types of ecological data, including data on animal movement, demography, physiology, and energetics.

Ruth’s current work aims to investigate the impacts of rat eradication programmes on tropical seabird nutrient inputs and, ultimately, coral reef ecology.

Selected Publications

  • Dunn RE, Green J, Wanless S, Harris MP, Newell MA, Bogdanova MI, Horswill C, Daunt F, Matthiopoulos J. (2022) Modelling and mapping how common guillemots balance their energy budgets over a full annual cycle. Functional Ecology 36(7): 1612-1626.
  • Dunn RE, Bradley D, Heithaus MR, Caselle JE, Papastamatiou YP. (2022) Conservation implications of forage base requirements of a marine predator population at carrying capacity. iScience 25 (1): 103646.
  • Dunn RE, Wanless S, Daunt F, Harris MP, Green JA. (2020) A year in the life of a North Atlantic seabird: behavioural and energetic adjustments during the annual cycle. Scientific Reports 10: 5933.
  • Dunn RE, Wanless S, Green JA, Harris MP, Daunt F. (2019) Effects of body size, sex, parental care and moult strategies on auk diving behaviour outside the breeding season. Journal of Avian Biology 50 (7): 02012.
  • Dunn RE, White CR, Green JA. (2018) A model to estimate seabird field metabolic rates. Biology Letters 14 (6): 20180190.