Department of Zoology

Principal Investigators

Research area - Behavioural Ecology

My conservation work is connected to my position as Curator of Birds in the University Museum of Zoology and ranges from the strictly practical to more theoretical research which nevertheless aims to provide information of direct use to conservation planning. This spectrum is reflected in the work of recent research students who have studied, inter alia, declining ring ousels in Britain, the endemic vertebrates of Sri Lanka, and what causes the apparent male adult sex ratio bias among threatened bird species

ISLANDS. Through connections with the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, I am involved with ongoing programmes to remove troublesome alien species from oceanic islands. The possibility of eradicating rats from Henderson Island, in the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific, is fast moving up the agenda.

A companion desk study, undertaken collaboratively with the RSPB, investigated how, at a global level, such eradication programmes might be prioritised in terms of their conservation worth to birds. There may be scope for expanding this work to integrate other taxa.

While the know-how for ridding islands of invasives is improving fast, the information on how rapidly species of conservation concern recover after an eradication is poor. Can we develop a better understanding of the circumstances in which that recovery is given a kick-start by immigration, as opposed to enhanced reproductive success?

Since 2002, I have led a small team monitoring the population dynamics of the critically threatened Raso Lark (world population approx. 100) of the Cape Verdes, a species displaying a marked male sex ratio bias.

SEABIRDS. Seabirds continue to throw up taxonomic problems. Slightly perversely, these may be due to the extreme philopatry of some species and the considerable post-Pleistocene range lability of others. Resolution of the taxonomic uncertainty will help ensure conservation resources are wisely targeted.
One seabird of great interest, because of its extraordinary range expansion, is the Northern Fulmar. Our contemporary studies provided little support for the traditional 'out-of-Iceland' scenario for the expansion. We are currently exploring whether the picture painted by 100-year old museum specimens is similar.

ECTOPARASITES. Following from earlier studies of cuckoos, I explored how cuckoo-specific featherlice might be transmitted from one cuckoo generation to the next. This study has prompted further research on feather louse transmission in blackbirds. An understanding of mechanics of louse transmission will strengthen understanding the basis for host specificity among lice and indeed other ectoparasites.

BIRD PLUMAGE. While some aspects of bird plumage are clearly related to sexual selection, we lack any general predictive framework for bird coloration. I would therefore welcome any projects designed to investigate more ecological explanations of bird colours. One recent research student studied the widespread occurrence of black-brown sexual dimorphism among passerine birds.

Students who might wish to join our group are more than welcome to suggest their own projects. They might fall within one of the above headings, but that is certainly not a pre-requisite.

Research group - Behavioural Ecology Group

Selected publications

• Brooke, M. de L. and Nakamura, H. (1998). The acquisition of host-specific feather lice by common cuckoos. J. Zool., 244: 159-165.

• Brooke, M. de L. (1998). Ecological factors influencing the occurrence of 'flash marks' in wading birds. Functional Ecology, 12: 339-346.
• Brooke, M. de L. (2001). Systematics and distribution of seabirds of the world: a review of current knowledge. Pp. 57-83 in 'The Biology of Marine Birds' (ed. E-A Schreiber and J. Berger). CRC Press, Boca Raton.
• Brooke, M. de L. (2003). Albatrosses and petrels across the world. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Burg, T.M., Almond, R., Lomax, J., Brooke, M. de L. and Amos, W. (2003). Unravelling dispersal patterns in an expanding population of a highly mobile seabird, the northern fulmar. Proc. Roy. Soc. B., 270: 979-984.
• de L. Brooke, M. (2004). The food consumption of the world’s seabirds. Biology Letters. 271(0): 246-248.
• Donald, P.F. & Brooke, M. de L. (2006). An unlikely survivor: the peculiar natural history of the Raso Lark. Brit. Birds, 99: 420-430.
• Brooke, M. de L, Hilton, G. & Martins, T.L.F. (2007). Prioritising the world's islands for vertebrate eradication programmes. Anim. Conserv., 10: 380-390.