Reproductive timing
Life-history
I have studied life-history questions in a number of contexts, including with laboratory model systems and wild animals. I have a particular fascination with how changes in life-history traits may influence one another, individual fitness and, ultimately, population dynamics. Responses of traits, either plastically or through microevolution, to environmental change have the potential to shape the future of species and ecosystems. I believe that understanding how these traits change and interact together is important for long-term conservation planning.
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Columbian ground squirrel wearing a temperature-sensing collar. Trapped under licence.
Pic: R. Findlay-Robinson
Hibernation
Through my work on Columbian ground squirrels, I developed a strong interest in hibernation. Hibernation is a wonderful and complex thing, and our understanding of it is changing all the time. In my research thus far I have focussed on so-called "true hibernators"; that is, hibernators that significantly reduce their body temperature and metabolism for periods longer than 24 hours. I am also interested in the ever-growing group of "non-typical" hibernators being discovered worldwide.
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Global change
Between climate change and urbanisation, the world is a rapidly changing place. As organisms adapt to maintain fitness in the face of these changes, ecosystems and food webs may be affected by temporal or spatial mismatches. I believe that it is important to consider the reactions of individual taxa to global change in an ecosystem context, particularly when conservation planning.
PhD research
For my PhD research, I studied how climate affects different aspects of life-history in a native UK hibernator, the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius. Specific questions I aimed to address included:
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does weather affect the timing of reproduction?
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does weather influence hibernation patterns?
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has the phenology of dormouse food plants changed over time?
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Hazel dormice are a species of conservation concern in the UK, and I hope that increasing our understanding of how changes in weather patterns will help to future-proof conservation plans for these animals.
Hazel dormouse peeping out of a nestbox.
Pic: R Findlay-Robinson
Rachel Findlay-Robinson
Behavioural ecology | Life-histories | Global change | Conservation