Prof Anne Goodenough

Teaching & Research

Teaching

I focus on practical and conservation ecology, field biology, avian biology and biogeography. My teaching is highly applied and uses lectures, seminars, workshops, fieldwork, lab work and computer analysis to link theory to its practical application.

Research

Anne’s research focuses on applied ecology: monitoring, managing and conserving species and habitats. She has a particular interest in enhancing ecological surveying through the use of technology. This covers topics as diverse as optimising acoustic monitoring of British bats, surveying African antelope using thermal imaging, using chemical stable isotope analysis to understand bird migration, and harnessing Twitter to understand ecological phenomena such as starling murmurations. She frequently collaborates with external organisations and regularly co-publishes with practitioners and students. She works on many different taxonomic groups, including microbes, plants, insects, arachnids, and mammals, and especially birds, which have always fascinated her.

Unlocking Bird Migration Mysteries with Chemical Analysis of Feathers: Every year, a small black-and-white songbird returns to the UK to breed after over-wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. This species, the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), is declining but understanding of wintering ecology is lacking. This project involved taking a tiny clipping from a wing feather from UK-breeding birds as part of normal ringing activities. These feathers had been grown in Africa and the African carbon stable isotope chemical signature was “locked in” to these feathers. Analysis showed that birds over-wintering in wetter areas produced substantially more chicks on UK breeding grounds the following spring. This will hopefully help inform African-based conservation.

Publications

External responsibilities

Consultancy work:

JISC Open Educational Resources (2009/10): Development of a Virtual Learning Environment to teach ecological experimental design

Higher Education Academy (2011/12): Developing a supportive framework for field courses through video-based resources