Fieldwork

Our main study population is on Cousin Island, Seychelles, which is 1.6 km from the nearest island of Cousine.

We monitor the Seychelles warbler population on Cousin in the two breeding seasons that take place each year. During these two breeding seasons we check the whole of Cousin island for Seychelles warbler nests.

We then monitor which individuals are helping to rear the chicks, to investigate the evolution of cooperative breeding behaviour. For example we put unique colour rings on each bird so that we can individually identify who is feeding the chicks.

We also survey the whole island to document which individuals are resident in each territory.

We always have two researchers conducting fieldwork in each breeding season. This is usually one PhD and one Masters student.

If you are interested in doing a PhD or Masters project with us, read about our research opportunities and get in touch, our email addresses are on our people page.