Dr Bernie McConnell

Head of Sea Mammal Research Unit Instrumentation Group

Researcher profile

Phone

+44 (0)1334 463280

Email

bm8@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

I am Deputy Director of the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) within the School of Biology, University of St Andrews.  I have work in SMRU for over 25 years, during which time I have published on the movement and behaviour of marine mammals ? from the Antarctic to the Arctic. I also lead the SMRU-Instrumentation Group. SMRU-IG is a research group, comprising ten engineers and biologists, that develops a novel set of telemetry systems to study the biology of marine mammals at sea and their oceanic environment.

I have been the recipient of numerous awards from public agencies, the telecommunications industry and Research Councils.  My other academic interests include:

• Individual Based Models in marine management
• Fine scale prey-fish distribution
• Social networks
• Effectors of human behavioural change in relation to climate change
• The Internet of Living Things

Early influencers: Jacques Cousteau and Jethro Tull.

Selected publications

• Harbour Seal Decline ? vital rates and drivers: Report to Scottish Government HSD2.

  Arso Civil, M., Langley, I., Law, A., Hague, E., Jacobson, E. K., Thomas, L., Smout, S. C., Hewitt, R., Duck, C. D., Morris, C., Brownlow, A., Davison, N., Doeschate, M., McConnell, B. J. & Hall, A. J., 2020, Sea Mammal Research Unit. 46 p.

  Research output: Book/Report ? Other report

• Classifying grey seal behaviour in relation to environmental variability and commercial fishing activity - a multivariate hidden Markov model

  van Beest, F. M., Mews, S., Elkenkamp, S., Schuhmann, P., Tsolak, D., Wobbe, T., Bartolino, V., Bastardie, F., Dietz, R., von Dorrien, C., Galatius, A., Karlsson, O., McConnell, B., Nabe-Nielsen, J., Olsen, M. T., Teilmann, J. & Langrock, R., 4 Apr 2019, In : Scientific Reports. 9, 14 p., 5642.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Post-disturbance haulout behaviour of harbour seals

  Paterson, W. D., Russell, D. J. F., Wu, G-M., McConnell, B., Currie, J. I., McCafferty, D. J. & Thompson, D., 6 Sep 2019, In : Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 29, S1, p. 144-156 13 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Response to L. Witting: PCBs still a major risk for global killer whale populations

  Desforges, J. P., Hall, A., McConnell, B., Rosing Asvid, A., Barber, J. L., Brownlow, A., De Guise, S., Eulaers, I., Jepson, P. D., Letcher, R. J., Levin, M., Ross, P. S., Sonne, C. & Dietz, R., Jul 2019, In : Marine Mammal Science. 35, 3, p. 1201-1206 6 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Letter

• Empirical measures of harbor seal behavior and avoidance of an operational tidal turbine

  Joy, R., Wood, J. D., Sparling, C. E., Tollit, D. J., Copping, A. E. & McConnell, B. J., Nov 2018, In : Marine Pollution Bulletin. 136, p. 92-106 15 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) around an operational tidal turbine in Strangford Narrows: no barrier effect but small changes in transit behaviour

  Sparling, C. E., Lonergan, M. & McConnell, B. J., Feb 2018, In : Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 28, 1, p. 194-204

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Predicting global killer whale population collapse from PCB pollution

  Desforges, J-P., Hall, A., McConnell, B., Rosing-Asvid, A., Barber, J. L., Brownlow, A., De Guise, S., Eulaers, I., Jepson, P. D., Letcher, R. J., Levin, M., Ross, P. S., Samarra, F., Vikingson, G., Sonne, C. & Dietz, R., 28 Sep 2018, In : Science. 361, 6409, p. 1373-1376 4 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Predicting the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on cetacean populations through impacts on immunity and calf survival

  Hall, A. J., McConnell, B. J., Schwacke, L. H., Ylitalo, G. M., Williams, R. & Rowles, T. K., Feb 2018, In : Environmental Pollution. 233, p. 407-418

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Fine-scale harbour seal usage for informed marine spatial planning

  Jones, E. L., Sparling, C. E., McConnell, B. J., Morris, C. & Smout, S. C., 14 Sep 2017, In : Scientific Reports. 7, 11 p., 11581.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Grey and harbour seals in France: distribution at sea, connectivity and trends in abundance at haulout sites

  Vincent, C., Huon, M., Caurant, F., Dabin, W., Deniau, A., Dixneuf, S., Dupuis, L., Elder, J-F., Fremau, M-H., Hassani, S., Hemon, A., Karpouzopoulos, J., Lefeuvre, C., McConnell, B. J., Moss, S. E. W., Provost, P., Spitz, J., Turpin, Y. & Ridoux, V., Jul 2017, In : Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. 141, p. 294-305

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

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