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Research Fellow, Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews

I am a research fellow at the Sea Mammal Research Unit under Dr Ailsa Hall working on a joint NERC research grant held by Dr Kimberley Bennett at the University of Abertay working on the affects of hormones and persistent organic pollutants on fat tissue function in phocid seals.

Research Interests include:
Hormonal impacts on individual behaviour and physiology
Maternal and social behaviour
Particular interest in the neuropeptide oxytocin

Publications:
High oxytocin infants gain more mass with no additional maternal energetic costs in wild grey seals (Hailchoerus grypus) Kelly Joanne Robinson, Neil Hazon, sean twiss, Patrick Pomeroy
Psychoneuroendocrinology vol.110

Investigating decadal changes in persistent organic pollutants in Scottish grey seal pups Kelly Joanne Robinson, Ailsa Jane Hall, Georges Scholl, Cathy Debier, Jean-Pierre Thomé, Gauthier Eppe, Catherine Adam,
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 2019 vol.29 pp.86-100

Persistent organic pollutant burden, experimental POP exposure, and tissue properties affect metabolic profiles of blubber from gray seal pups Kelly Joanne Robinson, Ailsa Jane Hall, Cathy Debier, Gauthier Eppe, Jean Pierre Thomé, Kimberley A. Bennett Environmental Science and Technology 2018 vol.52 pp.13523-13534

Individual size, sex and rearing environment impact on aggression in newly weaned seals Kelly Joanne Robinson, Patrick Pomeroy, Neil Hazon, Simon Moss, Sean Twiss Marine Mammal Science 2017 vol.33 pp.621-629

Positive social behaviours are induced and retained after oxytocin manipulations mimicking endogenous concentrations in a wild mammal Kelly Joanne Robinson, Sean D. Twiss, Neil Hazon, Simon Moss, Patrick Pomeroy Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2017 vol.284

Reproductive behaviour Patrick Pomeroy, Sean Twiss, Kelly Joanne Robinson
2017

Using blubber explants to investigate adipose function in grey seals Kimberley A. Bennett, Kelly Joanne Robinson, Simon Moss, Sebastian Millward, Ailsa Jane Hall Scientific Reports 2017 vol.7

Conspecific recognition and aggression reduction to familiars in newly weaned, socially plastic mammals Kelly Joanne Robinson, Sean Twiss, Neil Hazon, Simon Moss, Mike Lonergan, Patrick Pomeroy Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 2015 vol.69 pp.1383-1394

Maternal oxytocin is linked to close mother-infant proximity in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) Kelly Joanne Robinson, Sean D. Twiss, Neil Hazon, Patrick Pomeroy PLoS ONE 2015 vol.10

Validation of an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for plasma oxytocin in a novel mammal species reveals potential errors induced by sampling procedure Kelly Joanne Robinson, Neil Hazon, Mike Lonergan, Patrick Pomeroy Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2014 vol.226 pp.73-79

Experience

  • –present
    Research Fellow, Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews