Seabirds

Can seabirds avoid climate-induced extinction through rapid changes in migration?

5:00pm - 7:30pm / Thursday 30th April 2026 / Venue: Lecture Theatre B Central Teaching Hub
Type: Lecture / Category: Department
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The 21st century is witnessing rapid climatic changes, including increasing frequencies of extreme climatic events that can severely impact wild populations. How will these populations respond? Will they overcome climate-induced challenges through rapid evolutionary or behavioural changes, or will they be doomed to local or global extinction? I will answer these questions focusing on a climate-threatened population of European shags in eastern Scotland. Using long-term colour-ringing and year-round resighting data I reveal how extreme winter storms are causing very strong yet very variable natural selection on seasonal migration, and highlight the degree to which such selection could translate into rapid adaptive evolution of seasonal movements. I therefore reveal the degree to which one of the UK’s most iconic seabird species is likely to be challenged by changing seasonal climates.

Arrival: 5:00pm
Lecture start: 5:30pm (60 min lecture including questions)
Drinks reception & Nibbles – 6:30pm – 7:30pm