Kat Keogan

I am an ecologist interested in the effects of environmental change on marine ecosystems, currently funded by a Principal’s Career Development PhD scholarship from the University of Edinburgh.

For my PhD I am studying breeding phenology in seabirds, and the way in which they respond to changing conditions. Phenology is a useful way of monitoring the effects of environmental change on organisms. As a long-lived, high trophic level species group, seabirds are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment as they lack the evolutionary capacity to adjust as quickly as their prey. I am researching the patterns, drivers and mechanisms of breeding phenology in a range of seabird species with diverse life history traits.

I’m particularly interested in phenological trends on a global scale, and looking for patterns across phylogenetic groups or regions that might help us predict how species respond to environmental change.