Dr Katherine Whyte

Detecting disease progression from animal movement using hidden Markov models We demonstrate how (H)HMMs can be tailored to different epidemiological scenarios and provide a template workflow for developing and selecting Hidden Markov models to infer disease status from animal...

Published in @jappliedecology.bsky.social!😀

We show how (Hierarchical) Hidden Markov Models ((H)HMMs) can be tailored to different epidemiological scenarios to infer disease status directly from animal movement data.

🔗 ttps://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70323

Temporal changes in the dietary niche of sympatric seals provides insight into the role of competition in population declines Competition theory suggests that interspecific prey competition can result in changes to the dietary niche, but obtaining timeseries of data from sympatric species experiencing temporal variation in ...

New publication led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social on competition between grey & harbour seals in Scotland using 20+ yrs of diet data. Many thanks to all who collected samples, and collaborators from the Lighthouse Field Station and Institute of Marine Research
#OA Paper: doi.org/10.1002/oik....

🦭 We have a new paper out! We developed an accessible framework for assessing the risk of collision between seals and operating tidal turbines.
⏭️ We found that most seal tracks moved near the turbine without collision.
Read it here: doi.org/10.1002/aqc....
@seamammalresearch.bsky.social

Marine Mammals in the Anthropocene: Developing a Systematic Evidence Base of Threats to Nineteen Species Marine mammals are vulnerable to a variety of anthropogenic threats, yet a global systematic map of the literature for 19 species found both spatial and temporal disparity in research effort between ....

🚨 NEW PUBLICATION! 🐳🎉

Our new review paper, now published in Mammal Review, maps the the literature focusing on threats to 19 marine mammal species, to summarise volume of research, and highlight knowledge gaps (for species, locations, threats).

Read it here: doi.org/10.1111/mam....

Good decisions need good analysis! BioSS partnered with the Office for Environmental Protection to independently review how environmental trends are assessed.

Read more on our website: www.bioss.ac.uk/case-studies...

And the report: www.theoep.org.uk/commissioned...

At‐sea distribution of seals on the Northwest European Shelf: Towards transboundary conservation and management This study provides the first comprehensive, regionally scalable distribution estimates for pinnipeds across the NWES and its constituent countries. The modelling framework is adaptable to other cent....

New @jappliedecology.bsky.social paper: SMRU researchers @mattidcarter.bsky.social & @djfrussell.bsky.social led a large collaborative team to map the distribution of grey and harbour seals at sea across the Northwest European Shelf 🦭 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

BioSS Rob Kempton Lecture & Annual General Meeting 2025 Over Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th November, BioSS came together to meet in Edinburgh for our 2025 Rob Kempton Lecture and Annual General Meeting.

Earlier this week, we came together in Edinburgh for our BioSS Rob Kempton Lecture & Annual General Meeting 2025.

These two days were an excellent celebration of the diverse, impactful work BioSS continues to deliver for an ever-increasing range of stakeholders.

Read more about it on our website:

Lunchtime Live - 05/11/2025 - BBC Sounds News updates from Scotland and beyond, plus all your lunchtime sport, travel and weather.

Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, new Edinburgh Napier-led research with UKCEH & @bioss.bsky.social shows. This is significant as climate change is bringing windier weather conditions.

UKCEH's Francis Daunt spoke to BBC Scotland (~1hr 27m)

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... 🧪

Adapting Education to the Climate Transition: A collaborative workshop for change BioSS participated in a multi-actor and multi-generational workshop on rethinking how education meets the demands of the climate transition.

Our colleagues Esther Jones and @kateywhyte.bsky.social contributed to delivering a multi-generational workshop, bringing together young people, educators, academics, and industry leaders. 🌍

Read more about the project here:
www.bioss.ac.uk/case-studies...

Funded by @sefariscot.bsky.social.

Seabirds more likely to ‘divorce’ in bad weather Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a newly published study led by Edinburgh Napier University, in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)...

📣 New publication in the journal Animal Behaviour from our Adam Butler led by @edinburghnapier.bsky.social in collaboration with @ukceh.bsky.social.

📰 Read the summary here: www.bioss.ac.uk/case-studies...
📕 Read the full paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🚨 Only 2 weeks left to register! 🚨

Robustness is better assessed with a few thoughtful models than with billions of regressions | PNAS Robustness is better assessed with a few thoughtful models than with billions of regressions

Great piece on the absurdity of brute force multiverse analyses.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Kind reminder that the registration deadline for the SEFARI Science for Life Lecture 2025 is today! tinyurl.com/mv3smw57

"Giving life to your science so it impacts the transformation of agriculture, environment and society" by David G Farquhar FRGS

🗓️Friday Oct 24th
⏰12:30 - 3:30pm
📍Edinburgh

Inside a Seabird Colony: Tracking the Spread of Avian Influenza Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has caused unprecedented mortality in wild birds and led to the culling of millions of poultry worldwide. Since 2021, this ongoing global outbreak has severely...

Check out this new publication from our Dave Ewing, on tracking the spread of #AvianInfluenza inside a #seabird colony.

📰 Read the summary: www.bioss.ac.uk/case-studies...
📕 Read the full paper: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@daveewing.bsky.social @animalecology.bsky.social

Group of smiley people taking a photo in the countryside

Group of smiley people at the top of a hill

Picture from behind of a group of people walking in the countryside

Happy World Mental Health Day! Our colleagues in Dundee & Edinburgh took photos of their group walks this week 😊

This year's theme is 'Access to services - mental health in catastrophes and emergencies', read more: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/pub...

Image with QR code for the Registration page and photos of the two speakers Prof. Sallie Bailey and Ms Manira Ahmad.

Delighted to host "Statistics and Decision Making in the UK" as part of the International Day of Women in Statistics & Data Science #IDWSDS2025 w. @salliebailey.bsky.social @naturalengland.bsky.social & Manira Ahmad @publichealthscot.bsky.social
📆 14 Oct. 2025
⏰ 12-1
www.idwsds.org/registration/

Very pleased to be a part of this research contribution into the ongoing impact of HPAI on seabirds; led by @sue-lewis.bsky.social alongside fellow authors from @rspbscience.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social & @seabirdcentre.bsky.social

A black-eyed gannet.

🪹 | Seabirds that survived recent bird flu outbreaks have continued to reproduce, although overall breeding performance remains notably low, according to a new study.

The study has looked at breeding success in Northern Gannets at two locations during 2023.

🔗 orlo.uk/44CaS

📸 Dave Pressland

BioSS at the Royal Statistical Society International Conference 2025 A team of BioSS staff attended the RSS conference in Edinburgh, giving 12 presentations and leading 11 sessions.

We've been reflecting on a brilliant week at the @royalstatsoc.bsky.social International Conference in Edinburgh. Thanks for all the excellent sessions and discussions. 👏

Read more about our week here:
www.bioss.ac.uk/news-events/...

#RSS2025Conf #RSS2025 #Statistics

Stats in the Wild - Maths Week Scotland This set of bespoke evidence-based resources are for exploring statistics using outdoor maths.

We would love to hear your thoughts on our new set of maths teaching resources, developed in partnership with @mathsweek.scot
Please share widely! @amstatnews.bsky.social @scottheald72.bsky.social @kateywhyte.bsky.social @altealorenzo.bsky.social #MathsWeekScot

Our PhD candidate, @philippawright.bsky.social, at #CWW2025 (Wind energy &vWildlife impacts) on the #PrePARED project:🐟Fish for thought: The nutritional quality of prey species with a developing offshore wind landscape

@uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Learn more about PrePARED here: owecprepared.org

Very proud to supervise the brilliant work @philippawright.bsky.social is doing as part of her PhD. 🌟

If you're at CWW, and are interested in the nutritional quality of fish 🐟 around offshore wind farms, reach out to Philippa!

@seamammalresearch.bsky.social @smruc.bsky.social @bioss.bsky.social

RSS 2025 Conference poster prize winners announced

We're incredibly proud of our Samuel Connolly and Tess Vernon for winning 1st prize(!) for best poster at the @royalstatsoc.bsky.social International Conference! 🏆 🎉

#RSS2025Conf #RSS2025

Read the news here:
rss.org.uk/news-publica...

Title and author list for the synthesis paper titled "Understanding and Predicting Population Response to Anthropogenic Disturbance: Current Approaches and Novel Opportunities" published in Ecology Letters.

The latest paper from the DISCAR synthesis group is out at Ecology Letters! We discuss the key approaches to predicting human impacts on wildlife populations, highlighting avenues for incorporating indirect effects, such as energetic modelling. doi.org/10.1111/ele....

📣 Join us for our next Quantifying Ecology webinar! 📣

This time, Dr Rémi Fay will present in collaboration with @bes-parasitesgroup.bsky.social :

"Modeling the dynamics of brucellosis in an wild Alpine ibex population."

9th Sep @ 10am BST bit.ly/3HWpEol

Travelling back from an excellent couple of days in Norwich at the #BESMove2025 conference! 🐾🌍🦢

Thanks to @besmovesig.bsky.social and everyone who attended for another great meeting. 👋

@bioss.bsky.social

We're heading to the @royalstatsoc.bsky.social International Conference this week in Edinburgh! 📊

Our team are contributing to the exciting programme by leading 11 sessions, giving 11 talks, and presenting 2 posters.🎤🗣️

Hopefully see you there!
#RSS2025Conf #RSS2025 #Statistics

Very happy to share that our paper presenting a framework for optimal movement decisions in complex landscapes has just been published in TREE @stephharris.bsky.social @jacobnabe.bsky.social tinyurl.com/d45s36y5

Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals to protect, conserve, and manage at least 30% of the world's oceans in an effort to halt the loss of important mari...

BioSS researcher Dr Ana Couto worked with a team of international scientists who tracked over 100 marine species of large vertebrates to identify the most critical locations for conservation in the global ocean. 🌍🌊

Read more here: www.bioss.ac.uk/case-studies...

#conservation #marinebiology

Winter ASAB 2025 December 15th-16th Edinburgh How sensory information affects behaviour

Only two weeks to get your abstracts in for #ASABWinter2025 ⏰

Come join us in Edinburgh this December! 🏰 ❄️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

More info here:

asabwinter.github.io/2025/