Fieldwork at Phillip Island Nature Parks, Victoria, Australia
Bangor University and La Rochelle Université
With the generosity of the Challenger Society, I had the opportunity to travel to Phillip Island, Victoria to perform fieldwork as part of my Master’s by Research (MScRes) degree with Bangor University. Taking place at the midst of my year-long course, this experience allowed me to further develop my skills as an early-career behavioural ecologist by deploying bio-logging devices on the island’s resident little penguin (Eudyptula minor) population.
My MScRes thesis involves using unsupervised machine learning to determine when Antarctic Adélie penguins capture prey underwater. By having access to Nature Parks’ advanced monitoring technologies (such as their on-site weigh bridges that often cause penguin traffic-jams) I have been able to collect data that not only contributes to the ongoing conservation of little penguins, but also helps validate and develop my research on the Adélies – two birds with one fieldtrip!
Whilst very cute from afar, little penguin chicks are not something you ever go ‘nose-blind’ to; frequently in the field I found myself questioning why these stink bombs were ever given the alternative name of ‘fairy’ penguins—though I suppose binoculars have been around for some time now. Luckily, Phillip Island was Victoria’s first-ever surf reserve, so the more-than-occasional surf outings helped alleviate any short-term grudges.
With Phillip Island Nature Parks being such a broad operation, I also managed to get involved with additional tasks whilst doing fieldwork, including blood sampling for stable isotope analysis, penguin burrow checks, eDNA sampling, and general maintenance of on-site equipment.
Working with these species has been extremely special and truly an experience I’ll never forget. Getting the opportunity to observe and then track provisioning parents on their multi-day foraging trips really puts into perspective how impressive these marine predators are, and makes me that much more excited to continue my journey as an ecologist.
Awardee Profile:
I am a Research Masters student at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University. My research focuses on using advanced monitoring technology and machine learning to understand the lifestyles of predators in the wild. I was recently awarded the 2025 Postgraduate Student Research Award with the Welsh Ornithological Society for my previous masters, where I used bio-logging technology to quantify niche differentiation among two sympatric seabird species in North Wales. In addition to bio-logging, I have a strong passion for remote and passive monitoring techniques, such as bioacoustics, satellite imagery, and camera trapping.
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