Jenny Cantlay

My doctoral research focuses on avian sensory ecology and its application to conservation science. More specifically, I am combining avian visual and behavioural ecology to examine the problem of waterbirds’ fatal interactions with man-made hazards, including gill nets and wind turbines, in underwater and aerial environments.

This project will increase understanding about the visual abilities of waterbirds, and species’ behavioural responses to novel visual stimuli. I am measuring the visual fields of a wide range of waterbird species with varied foraging behaviour to provide an interspecific comparative evaluation of their visual field characteristics. This will help me to determine how their visual fields may influence their susceptibility to fishing net entrapment and collisions. I have also conducted an experiment in an aquatic environment to assess the behaviour of sea ducks to LED lights, a proposed mitigation measure for bycatch reduction.

The aim of this project is to utilise a sensory ecology approach to examine avian hazard susceptibility and inform the development of technological solutions to reduce bird mortalities.