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Professor Paul Thompson

Professor Paul Thompson
Professor Paul Thompson
Professor Paul Thompson

Chair in Zoology

About
Email Address
paul.thompson@abdn.ac.uk
Office Address
Lighthouse Field Station
Cromarty Campus
George Street
Cromarty
Ross-shire
IV11 8YJ

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School/Department
School of Biological Sciences
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Biography

I'm a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, based at the University's Lighthouse Field Station where my group conducts long-term ecological studies of marine top predators and their responses to environment change.

Our work aims to improve the evidence-base required to sustainably manage protected seabird and marine mammal populations, with a particular focus on interactions with fisheries and offshore energy developments. 

 

Qualifications

  • PhD Zoology 
    1987 - University of Aberdeen 

    Distribution and abundance of common seals

  • BSc Biology 
    1982 - University of York 

External Memberships

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 

Latest Publications

  • Characterising underwater noise and changes in harbour porpoise behaviour during the decommissioning of an oil and gas platform

    Fernandez Betelu, O., Graham, I., Malcher, F., Webster, E., Cheong, S., Wang, L. P., Iorio-Merlo, V., Robinson, S., Thompson, P.
    Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 200, 116083
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones

    Benhemma-Le Gall, A., Thompson, P., Merchant, N., Graham, I.
    Environmental impact assessment review, vol. 103, 107271
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Decadal increase in vessel interactions by a scavenging pelagic seabird across the North Atlantic

    Darby, J. H., Clairbaux, M., Quinn, J. P., Thompson, P., Quinn, L., Cabot, D., Strøm, H., Thórarinsson, T. L., Kempf, J., Jessopp, M. J.
    Current Biology, vol. 33, no. 19, pp. 4225-4231.e3
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

    Clark, B. L., Carneiro, A. P., Pearmain, E., Rouyer, M., Clay, T., Cowger, W., Phillips, R. A., Manica, A., Hazin, C., Eriksen, M., Gonzalez-Solis, J., Adams, J., Albores-Barajas, Y., Alfaro-Shiqueto, J., Alho, M., Araujo, D., Arcos, J. M., Arnould, J., Barbosa, N., Barbraud, C., Beard, A., Beck, J., Bell, E., Bennet, D., Berlincourt, M., Conceicao Biscoito, M. J., Bjørnstad, O., Bolton, M., Jones, K. B., Borg, J., Bourgeois, K., Bretagnolle, V., Bried, J., Briskie, J., Brooke, M., Brownlie, K., Bugoni, L., Calabrese, L., Campioni, L., Carey, M., Carle, R. D., Carlile, N., Carreiro, A. R., Catry, P., Catry, T., Cecere, J., Ceia, F. R., Cherel, Y., Choi, C., Cianchetti-Benedetti, M., Clarke, R., Cleeland, J., Colodro, V., Congdon, B., Danielsen, J., De Pascalis, F., Deakin, Z., Dehnhard, N., Dell'Omo, G., Delord, K., Descamps, S., Dilley, B. J., Dinis, H., Dubos, J., Dunphy, B., Emmerson, L., Fagundes, A. I., Fayet, A. L., Felis, J., Fischer, J., Freeman, A., Fromant, A., Gaibani, G., García,, D., Gjerdrum, C., Soeli Gomes, I., Forero, M., Granadeiro, J. P., Grecian, W. J., Grémillet, D., Guilford, T., Hallgrimsson, G. T., Halpin, L., Hansen, E., Hedd, A., Helberg, M., Helgason, H. H., Henry, L., Hereward, H., Hernández-Montero, M., Hindell, M., Hodum, P., Imperio, S., Jaeger, A., Jessopp, M. J., Jodice, P., Jones, C. G., Jones, C., Jónsson, J. E., Kane, A., Kapelj, S., Kim, Y., Kirk, H., Kolbeinsson, Y., Kraemer, P., Krüger, L., Lago, P., Landers, T., Lavers, J., Le Corre, M., Leal, A., Maite, L., Madeiros, J., Magalhães, M., Mallory, M. L., Masello, J., Massa, B., Matsumoto, S., McDuie, F., McFarlane Tranquilla, L., Medrano, F., Metzger, B., Militão, T., Montevecchi, W. A., Montone, R., Navarro-Herrero, L., Neves, V., Nicholls, D., Nicoll, M. A. C., Norris, K., Oppel, S., Oro, D., Owen, E., Padget, O., Paiva, V. H., Pala, D., Pereira, J. M., Péron, C., Petry, M., Pina, A., Pina, A. T., Pinet, P., Pistorius, P., Pollet, I., Porter, B., Poupart, T., Christopher D, P., Proaño, C., Pujol-Casado, J., Quillfeldt, P., Quinn, J., Raine, A., Raine, H., Ramírez, I., Ramos, J. A., Ramos, R., Ravache, A., Rayner, M., Reid, T., Robertson, G. T., Rocamora, G., Rollinson, D., Ronconi, R. A., Rotger, A., Rubolini, D., Ruhomaun, K., Ruiz, A., Russell, J. M., Ryan, P. G., Saldanha, S., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Sardà Serra, M., Satgé, Y., Sato, K., Schäfer, W., Schoombie, S., Shaffer, S., Shah, N., Shoji, A., Shutler, D., Sigurðsson, I. A., Silva, M. A., Small, A., Soldatini, C., Strøm, H., Surman, C., Takahashi, A., Tatayah, R. V., Taylor, G., Thomas, R., Thompson, D., Thompson, P., Thórarinsson, T. L., Vicente-Sastre, D., Vidal, E., Wakefield, E. D., Waugh, S., Weimerskirch, H., Wittmer, H., Yamamoto, T., Yoda, K., Zavalaga, C., Zino, F., Dias, M. P.
    Nature Communications, vol. 14, 3665
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Variation in foraging activity influences area-restricted search behaviour by bottlenose dolphins

    Fernandez Betelu, O., Iorio-Merlo, V., Graham, I., Cheney, B., Prentice, S., Cheng, X., Thompson, P.
    Royal Society Open Science, vol. 10, no. 6, 221613
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation, 2015

Research

Research Overview

Current research aims to assess how natural and anthropogenic environmental variations influence the behaviour, physiology and dynamics of marine mammal and seabird populations. These questions have been approached by conducting long-term and comparative studies of key populations; primarily in Scottish waters but including some work overseas. These studies have been used to address a range of applied and theoretical questions, often requiring an inter-disciplinary approach and regularly involving collaboration with other research groups both in the UK and abroad. Topics of particular interest have included interactions between wildlife populations and fisheries, the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammal biology, seal foraging and breeding strategies, and effects of changing prey stocks and climate change on the population dynamics of marine top predators.  

Research Areas

Biological and Environmental Sciences

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Marine Sciences
  • Acoustics
  • Environmental Impact Assessment

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Current Research

Population ecology of marine mammals and seabirds; individual-based studies of focal populations of northern fulmars, harbour seals and bottlenose dolphins. 

Moray Firth Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme [MMMP];  co-produced strategic research and monitoring programme to meet consent conditions for regional offshore wind developments.  

PrePARED; consortium project on predator and prey responses to offshore structures, aimed at understanding cumulative environmental impacts and benefits of offshore windfarms. 

SEATRACK; international collaboration to understand the at-sea distribution of seabirds in the NE Atlantic.

Knowledge Exchange

Knowledge exchange activities have involved regular consultancy work for industry and contributions to UK and International advisory groups. Current activities include membership of the DEFRA Strategic Underwater Noise Group and a Marine Scotland Strategic Marine Mammal Research Programme Steering Group. 

Public engagement activities have built upon work at the Lighthouse Field Station, which has featured in a broad range of TV and Radio programmes and been the focus of Arts-Science collaborations such as SUBLIME.  

Collaborations

Population ecology of marine mammals and seabirds; involves collaboration with the University of St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit and the University of Bangor.

Moray Firth Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme [MMMP]; involves collaboration with the University of St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit and CEFAS.

PrePARED; consortium led by Marine Scotland Science, including University of Exeter, SMRU Consulting, BIOSS, CEH, Nature Scot, Natural England & University of Aarhus.  

SEATRACK; collaboration led by the Norwegian Polar Institute, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and Norwegian Environment Agency. SEATRACK involves multiple partners working at over 50 seabird colonies encircling the Labrador, Greenland, Barents, Norwegian, North and Irish Seas. 

Supervision

I've supervised around 25 PhD students who have gone on to work in a wide range of research, conservation and management roles.

You can find out more about their research projects and subsequent careers on the Lighthouse Field Station webpages. 

I'm no longer taking on PhD students as a primary supervisor but remain open to involvement in supervisory teams for interesting project that relate to my current interests.   

Funding and Grants

2022-2025, The Crown Estate Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme, PrePARED

2021-2022, BEIS, Cetacean responses to decommissioning noise.

2014-2022, Beatrice Offshore Wind Ltd, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd, Marine Scotland, The Crown Estate, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme for Moray Firth windfarm developments 

2012-2024, Scottish Natural Heritage, Site condition monitoring for the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation

2015-2016, DECC, Assessing cetacean responses to pile driving noise

2011-2012, Marine Scotland, Assessment of methods for monitoring marine mammals at marine renewable energy developments 

2010-2012, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd & Beatrice Offshore Wind Ltd, Development of a framework for assessing the impact of windfarm construction marine mammal populations.  

2009-2013, DECC, Assessing the impact of seismic survey noise on cetaceans

Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

The Lighthouse Field Station research programme has provided unique opportunities for >30 cohorts of UG and PGT students to experience research-led teaching within marine mammal ecology and conservation.

In particular, Cromarty-based Honours and Masters projects have provided unique field-based training opportunities; resulting in a strong record for graduate recruitment and many alumni obtaining important leadership roles in the UK and overseas. Undergraduates can also visit the Field Station for the Biodiversity Field Course (BI25F7). 

Several Aberdeen-based courses at levels 1-5 draw upon Lighthouse research, with contributions to Frontiers in Biology (BI1009), Fundamentals in Marine Biology (BI25Z2), Animal Population Ecology (ZO4920), Marine Biodiversity (ZO4820), Marine Conservation Management (ZO5809) and Marine EIA (ZO5510).

Since 2017, I have been developing more online material for blended delivery, and exploring digital approaches to enable virtual access to remote fieldwork. From April 2022, I may continue to appear in some of these digital resources, but my previous teaching commitments will be undertaken by Dr Jo Kershaw.     

Publications

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  • Co-variation in the probabilities of sighting harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins

    Thompson, P. M., White, S., Dickson, E.
    Marine Mammal Science, vol. 20, pp. 322-328
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Considering the temporal when managing the spatial: a population range expansion impacts protected areas based management from bottlenose dolphins.

    Wilson, B., Reid, R. J., Grellier, K., Thompson, P. M., Hammond, P. S.
    Animal Conservation, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 331-338
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Functional mechanisms underlying cetacean distribution patterns: hotspots for bottlenose dolphins are linked to foraging

    Hastie, G. D., Wilson, B., Wilson, L., Parsons, K. M., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Biology, vol. 144, pp. 397-403
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Marine birds and climate fluctuation in the North Atlantic

    Durant, J. M., Stenseth, N. C., Anker-Nilssen, T., Harris, M. P., Thompson, P. M., Wanless, S.
    Marine Ecosystems and Climate Variation: The North Atlantic, pp. 95-105, 10 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • A simple photogrammetric technique for estimating egg volume from field measurements

    Michel, P., Thompson, P. M.
    Atlantic Seabirds, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 31-34
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Bottlenose Dolphins increase breathing synchrony in response to boat traffic

    Hastie, G. D., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Mammal Science, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 74-84
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Distribution of small cetaceans within a candidate Special Area of Conservation; implications for management

    Hastie, G. D., Barton, T. R., Swift, R. J., Grellier, K., Hammond, P. S., Thompson, P. M.
    Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, vol. 5, pp. 261-266
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Fine-scale habitat selection by coastal bottlenose dolphins: application of a new land-based video-montage technique

    Hastie, G. D., Wilson, B., Thompson, P. M.
    Canadian Journal Of Zoology/Revue Canadien De Zoologie, vol. 81, pp. 469-478
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Kinship as a basis for alliance formation between male bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the Bahamas

    Parsons, K. M., Durban, J., Claridge, D. E., Balcombe, K. C., Noble, L. R., Thompson, P. M.
    Animal Behaviour, vol. 66, pp. 185-194
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Patterns in the vocalizations of male harbor seals

    Van Parijs, S. M., Corkeron, P. J., Harvey, J., Hayes, S., Mellinger, D., Rouget, P., Thompson, P. M., Wahlberg, M., Kovacs, K. M.
    Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 113, no. 6, pp. 3403-3410
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • The influence of body size, breeding experience and evironmental variability on egg size in the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

    Michel, P., Ollason, J. G., Grosbois, V., Thompson, P. M.
    Journal of Zoology, vol. 261, pp. 427-432
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Use of photo-identification data to quantify mother-calf association patterns in bottlenose dolphins

    Grellier, K., Hammond, P. S., Wilson, B., Sanders-Reed, C., Thompson, P. M.
    Canadian Journal Of Zoology/Revue Canadien De Zoologie, vol. 81, pp. 1421-1427
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Influence of the tidal cycle and a tidal intrusion front on the spatio-temporal distribution of coastal bottlenose dolphins

    Mendes, S., Turrell, W., Lutkebohle, T., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 239, pp. 221-229
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Mitochondrial genetic diversity and population structuring of UK bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): is the NE Scotland Population demographically and geographically isolated?

    Parsons, K. M., Noble, L. R., Reid, R. J., Thompson, P. M.
    Biological Conservation, vol. 108, pp. 175-182
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Prevalence of morbillivirus antibodies in Scottish harbour seals

    Thompson, P. M., Thompson, H., Hall, A. J.
    Veterinary Record, vol. 151, pp. 609-610
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Lagged effects of ocean climate change on fulmar population dynamics

    Thompson, P. M., Ollason, J. G.
    Nature, vol. 413, pp. 417-420
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • A new technique to measure spatial relationships within groups of free-ranging coastal cetaceans

    Denardo, C., Hastie, G., Leaper, R., Wilson, B., Thompson, P. M.
    Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 888-895
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Local declines in the abundance of harbour seals:implications for the designation and monitoring of protected areas

    Thompson, P. M., Van Parijs, S., Kovacs, K. M.
    Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 38, pp. 117-125
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Display-area size, tenure length, and site fidelity in the aquatically mating male harbour seal, Phoca vitulina

    Van Parijs, S. M., Janik, V. M., Thompson, P. M.
    Canadian Journal Of Zoology/Revue Canadien De Zoologie, vol. 78, no. 12, pp. 2209-2217
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • A design for a two-dimensional boat-bound hydrophone array for studying harbor seals, Phoca vitulina

    Van Parijs, S. M., Hastie, G. D., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Mammal Science, vol. 16, pp. 481-488
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • A two-dimensional acoustic localization system for marine mammals

    Janik, V. M., Van Parijs, S. M., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Mammal Science, vol. 16, pp. 437-447
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Changing occurrence of epidermal lesions in wild bottlenose dolphins

    Wilson, B., Grellier, K., Hammond, P. S., Brown, G., Thompson, P. M.
    Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 205, pp. 283-290
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Combining power analysis and population viability analysis to compare traditional and precautionary approaches to conservation of coastal cetaceans

    Thompson, P. M., Wilson, B., Grellier, K., Hammond, P. S.
    Conservation Biology, vol. 14, pp. 1253-1263
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Individual and geographical variation in display behaviour of male harbour seals in Scotland

    Van Parijs, S. M., Hastie, G. D., Thompson, P. M.
    Animal Behaviour, vol. 59, pp. 559-568
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Amplifying dolphin mitochondrial DNA from faecal plumes

    Parsons, K. M., Dallas, J. F., Claridge, D. E., Durban, J. W., Balcomb, K. C., Thompson, P. M., Noble, L. R.
    Molecular Ecology, vol. 8, pp. 1766-1768
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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