Irene Martinez Baquero

I am interested in behavioural ecology, particularly in understanding how birds adapt their behaviour to small-scale environmental variation. My DPhil project investigates the foraging behaviour of birds in phenologically variable landscapes, focusing on how they optimise nest provisioning during the breeding season. To achieve this, I will integrate bio-logging and molecular methods to study the Wytham Woods population of Great Tits (Parus major). By combining data on movement, energetics, and diet, I aim to contribute to shed light on the links between reproductive timing and fitness, especially, on how birds interact with their environment and make decisions based on the landscape they encounter. I hope this research will help us to better understand the consequences of small-scale environmental variation on bird behaviour, and the extent to which birds might be able to cope with climate change through behavioural plasticity.

behaviour, ecology