OUR TEAM

We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers with a shared interest goal, based at various institutions. If you are interested in joining our group or collaborating with us, please get in touch via our contact page.

ADAM PIPER

Research Fellow and Principal Investigator - Institute of Zoology, ZSL

My research interests centre around understanding the influence of environmental and physiological factors on fish behaviour and movement, with particular focus on providing an evidence base to improve the conservation and management of imperilled species. I use a range of approaches, including biotelemetry, sonar, and filming technologies, in both lab and field-based studies, to assess the influence of human induced drivers on fish behaviour. In recent years, much of this work has focused on measuring the impact of marine and freshwater infrastructure schemes, energy production, water abstraction and aquaculture developments on fish and their migration strategies.

Another key theme of my work is using our understanding of how diadromous fish respond to environmental stimuli (e.g. hydrodynamics, acoustics) to develop more effective fish guidance and passage technologies.

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MIKE WILLIAMSON

Post Doctoral Research Associate - Institute of Zoology, ZSL

I am interested in using tagging technologies and remote sensing to investigate the movement ecology of marine and freshwater fauna, and how this is influenced by environmental drivers, anthropogenic disturbance and climate change.

I have previously conducted research on the impacts of vessels and seismic sound on humpback whale migration and the environmental drivers of reef shark movement around coral ecosystems. I am currently investigating the physiological and environmental drivers of European eel movement and social behaviour in lentic water bodies.

Twitter: @mjw_marine

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CHARLOTTE PIKE

Project Coordinator - ZSL

My work is focused on the coordination of multidisciplinary conservation and research projects.

I have experience assisting the successful delivery of projects employing telemetry and filming to better understand the drivers of fish movement and behaviour, particularly for Anguillid eels and sea trout. I also have experience on projects working to improve our understanding and the conservation of elasmobranchs, particularly focussed on angel sharks, across the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

CHRIS SERGEANT

Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer - ZSL

As the NACWO and Home Office lead, I provide support with regards to the Home Office regulated sections of the research projects undertaken at the Institute and manage the unit within which the work takes place. This involves overseeing the husbandry and welfare requirements of any animals maintained onsite and assisting with the running of laboratory-based eel passage behavioural trials.

JACK BRAND

Visiting Researcher - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

I am a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist interested in understanding the role of environmental change in mediating phenotypic variation. In particular, I am interested in how changing environmental conditions can influence both behavioural and physiological traits, as well as their (co)variation, in wildlife populations. Through this research I have developed a keen interest in understanding the environmental factors that mediate individual differences in behaviour and the evolutionary consequences this has for animal populations across a diverse range of taxa (e.g. fish, reptiles, & insects). More recently, I have also become interested in using animal movement data to understand how environmental conditions influence animal behaviour in the wild.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, working within the Aquatic Ecology Research Group. I am also a visiting researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, working with the Fish Movement Ecology Group.