Philippa Gullett

RSPB, Scotland · Conservation Science

Capsule: Changes in abundance of six bird species showed associations with moorland management. Aims: To assess responses of breeding birds to moorland management over a 14-year period. Methods: Vegetation and birds were surveyed at 2–3-year intervals and changes examined in relation to sheep and cattle grazing, vegetation burning and cutting. Resu...

The factors selecting for territoriality and their relative importance are poorly resolved. Theoretical models predict that territoriality will be selected when resources of intermediate abundance are distributed variably and predictably in time and space, but can be selected against if the resource-holding potential of individuals is low or the ri...

Productivity is a key demographic trait that can be influenced by climate change, but there are substantial gaps in our understanding of the impact of weather on productivity and recruitment in birds. Weather is known to influence reproductive success in numerous species, although such effects have not been reported in all studies, perhaps because...

Inclusive fitness theory provides the conceptual framework for our current understanding of social evolution, and empirical studies suggest that kin selection is a critical process in the evolution of animal sociality. A key prediction of inclusive fitness theory is that altruistic behaviour evolves when the costs incurred by an altruist (c) are ou...

Inclusive fitness theory provides the conceptual framework for our current understanding of social evolution, and empirical studies suggest that kin selection is a critical process in the evolution of animal sociality. A key prediction of inclusive fitness theory is that altruistic behaviour evolves when the costs incurred by an altruist (c) are ou...

Predicting climate change impacts on population size requires detailed understanding of how climate influences key demographic rates, such as survival. This knowledge is frequently unavailable, even in well‐studied taxa such as birds. In temperate regions, most research into climatic effects on annual survival in resident passerines has focussed on...

Climate change-induced shifts in phenology have important demographic consequences, and are frequently used to assess species' sensitivity to climate change. Therefore, developing accurate phenological predictions is an important step in modeling species' responses to climate change. The ability of such phenological models to predict effects at lar...

There is a divergence between models examining the evolution of group living in species in which groups are largely based on families and those based on fluid aggregations of nonrelatives. In the former, the onus has been on ecological and demographic factors that select for offspring philopatry; in the latter, the importance of factors such as for...