Paul Acker
About
I am an evolutionary ecologist interested in how biodiversity responds to environmental change and perturbations. My research aims to understand and predict how natural selection, phenotypic plasticity, and heritable genetic variation interact to shape adaptive evolution, individual life histories, and the persistence of wild populations.
To investigate these eco-evolutionary dynamics, I combine original empirical studies with the development of conceptual frameworks. My work focuses on key traits that influence fitness and population growth in spatio-temporally varying environments, including seasonal migration, survival, reproduction, and dispersal. I devise advanced statistical approaches that integrate capture-recapture with quantitative genetics, enabling robust inference from long-term individual-based monitoring data collected in wild populations.
News about current and upcoming activities:
• New paper out in Methods in Ecology and Evolution: Full decomposition of phenotypic variance in dichotomous traits: New methods and key implications for behaviour, demography and evolutionary ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.70175.
• Cassandra Ugland and Victorine George will both be at the BES conference in Edinburgh to present their PhD work which I co-supervised. Cassandra has a talk about dynamics of plasticity and selection of early-life migration in shags on Tuesday Dec. 16th at 16:30 (session entitled 'Adaptation and trait evolution'). Victorine has a poster about our new approach to quantifying phenological plasticity using the threshold trait model in the session of Tuesday 18:00-19:30 search for no. A17.17).
• Rebecca Lovell, postdoc at the University of Aberdeen, will also be at the BES conference to present some work I collaborated to. Her talk will be about spatial patterns of selection on migration vs residence during extreme events in shags, on Wednesday 17th at 12:00 (session entitled 'Plasticity, dispersal and ecological responses').
Competencies
Research
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Empirical study of contemporary responses to environmental changes in wild populations
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Methods for quantifying eco-evolutionary processes from long-term individual monitoring data
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Conceptualising the non-linear genotype-environment-phenotype maps of life history traits
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Ecological and evolutionary theory of population dynamics in spatio-temporally varying environments
Projects I am (or have recently been) part of:
EcoEvoMove
I am currently working for the project 'Spatio-Seasonal Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics' funded by an ERC advanced grant to Prof. Jane Reid.
Early-life eco-evolutionary dynamics of variable seasonal migration
In 2021-2024, I was co-I on this NFR-funded project managed by Prof. Jane Reid.
Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics
In 2020-2024, I was a postdoc at the SFF Centre of Excellence CBD, directed by Prof. Bernt-Erik Sæther.
Publications
2025
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Acker, Paul;
Reid, Jane Margaret.
(2025)
Full decomposition of phenotypic variance in dichotomous traits: New methods and key implications for behaviour, demography and evolutionary ecology.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Academic article
2024
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Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves;
Acker, Paul;
Ugland, Cassandra Regine;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Harris, Michael P.;
Newell, Mark A..
(2024)
Season-specific genetic variation underlies early-life migration in a partially migratory bird.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
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Ugland, Cassandra Regine;
Acker, Paul;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves;
Gunn, Carrie;
Haaland, Thomas Ray.
(2024)
Early-life variation in migration is subject to strong fluctuating survival selection in a partially migratory bird.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
2023
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Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Newell, Mark A.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2023)
Additive genetic and environmental variation interact to shape the dynamics of seasonal migration in a wild bird population.
Evolution
Academic article
2022
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Payo-Payo, Ana;
Acker, Paul;
Bocedi, Greta;
Travis, Justin M. J.;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2022)
Modelling the responses of partially migratory metapopulations to changing seasonal migration rates: From theory to data.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Newell, Mark A.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2022)
Hierarchical variation in phenotypic flexibility across timescales and associated survival selection shape the dynamics of partial seasonal migration.
The American Naturalist
Academic article
-
Reid, Jane Margaret;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Conceptualizing the evolutionary quantitative genetics of phenological life-history events: Breeding time as a plastic threshold trait.
Evolution Letters
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Schaub, Michael;
Besnard, Aurélien;
Monnat, Jean-Yves;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2022)
Can attraction to and competition for high-quality habitats shape breeding propensity?.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
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Fay, Rémi;
Hamel, Sandra;
Pol, Martijn Van de;
Gaillard, Jean Michel;
Yoccoz, Nigel;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Temporal correlations among demographic parameters are ubiquitous but highly variable across species.
Ecology Letters
Academic article
-
Reid, Jane Margaret;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Properties of phenotypic plasticity in discrete threshold traits.
Evolution
Academic article
2021
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Fay, Rémi;
Authier, Matthieu;
Hamel, Sandra;
Jenouvrier, Stéphanie;
Pol, Martijn van de;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2021)
Quantifying fixed individual heterogeneity in demographic parameters: Performance of correlated random effects for Bernoulli variables.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J;
Newell, Mark A;
Harris, Michael P.
(2021)
Strong survival selection on seasonal migration versus residence induced by extreme climatic events.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Burthe, Sarah J;
Newell, Mark A;
Grist, Hannah;
Gunn, Carrie;
Harris, Michael P..
(2021)
Episodes of opposing survival and reproductive selection cause strong fluctuating selection on seasonal migration versus residence.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
2020
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Reid, Jane Margaret;
Souter, Moray;
Fenn, Sarah R.;
Acker, Paul;
Payo-Payo, Ana;
Burthe, Sarah J..
(2020)
Among-individual and within-individual variation in seasonal migration covaries with subsequent reproductive success in a partially-migratory bird.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
2018
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Acker, Paul;
Francesiaz, Charlotte;
Bechet, Arnaud;
Sadoul, Nicolas;
Lessells, Catherine M.;
Pijl, Agata S..
(2018)
Insights on dispersal and recruitment paradigms: sex-and age-dependent variations in a nomadic breeder.
Oecologia
Academic article
2017
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Acker, Paul;
Besnard, Aurélien;
Monnat, Jean-Yves;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2017)
Breeding habitat selection across spatial scales: is grass always greener on the other side?.
Ecology
Academic article
2015
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Acker, Paul;
Grégoire, Arnaud;
Rat, Margaux;
Spottiswoode, Claire N.;
Dijk, René E. van;
Paquet, Mathieu.
(2015)
Disruptive viability selection on a black plumage trait associated with dominance.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Academic article
2014
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Acker, Paul;
Robert, Alexandre;
Bourget, Romain;
Colas, Bruno.
(2014)
Heterogeneity of reproductive age increases the viability of semelparous populations.
Functional Ecology
Academic article
Journal publications
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Acker, Paul;
Reid, Jane Margaret.
(2025)
Full decomposition of phenotypic variance in dichotomous traits: New methods and key implications for behaviour, demography and evolutionary ecology.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Academic article
-
Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves;
Acker, Paul;
Ugland, Cassandra Regine;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Harris, Michael P.;
Newell, Mark A..
(2024)
Season-specific genetic variation underlies early-life migration in a partially migratory bird.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
-
Ugland, Cassandra Regine;
Acker, Paul;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves;
Gunn, Carrie;
Haaland, Thomas Ray.
(2024)
Early-life variation in migration is subject to strong fluctuating survival selection in a partially migratory bird.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Newell, Mark A.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2023)
Additive genetic and environmental variation interact to shape the dynamics of seasonal migration in a wild bird population.
Evolution
Academic article
-
Payo-Payo, Ana;
Acker, Paul;
Bocedi, Greta;
Travis, Justin M. J.;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2022)
Modelling the responses of partially migratory metapopulations to changing seasonal migration rates: From theory to data.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J.;
Newell, Mark A.;
Harris, Michael P..
(2022)
Hierarchical variation in phenotypic flexibility across timescales and associated survival selection shape the dynamics of partial seasonal migration.
The American Naturalist
Academic article
-
Reid, Jane Margaret;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Conceptualizing the evolutionary quantitative genetics of phenological life-history events: Breeding time as a plastic threshold trait.
Evolution Letters
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Schaub, Michael;
Besnard, Aurélien;
Monnat, Jean-Yves;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2022)
Can attraction to and competition for high-quality habitats shape breeding propensity?.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Fay, Rémi;
Hamel, Sandra;
Pol, Martijn Van de;
Gaillard, Jean Michel;
Yoccoz, Nigel;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Temporal correlations among demographic parameters are ubiquitous but highly variable across species.
Ecology Letters
Academic article
-
Reid, Jane Margaret;
Acker, Paul.
(2022)
Properties of phenotypic plasticity in discrete threshold traits.
Evolution
Academic article
-
Fay, Rémi;
Authier, Matthieu;
Hamel, Sandra;
Jenouvrier, Stéphanie;
Pol, Martijn van de;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2021)
Quantifying fixed individual heterogeneity in demographic parameters: Performance of correlated random effects for Bernoulli variables.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Daunt, Francis;
Wanless, Sarah;
Burthe, Sarah J;
Newell, Mark A;
Harris, Michael P.
(2021)
Strong survival selection on seasonal migration versus residence induced by extreme climatic events.
Journal of Animal Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Burthe, Sarah J;
Newell, Mark A;
Grist, Hannah;
Gunn, Carrie;
Harris, Michael P..
(2021)
Episodes of opposing survival and reproductive selection cause strong fluctuating selection on seasonal migration versus residence.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
-
Reid, Jane Margaret;
Souter, Moray;
Fenn, Sarah R.;
Acker, Paul;
Payo-Payo, Ana;
Burthe, Sarah J..
(2020)
Among-individual and within-individual variation in seasonal migration covaries with subsequent reproductive success in a partially-migratory bird.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Francesiaz, Charlotte;
Bechet, Arnaud;
Sadoul, Nicolas;
Lessells, Catherine M.;
Pijl, Agata S..
(2018)
Insights on dispersal and recruitment paradigms: sex-and age-dependent variations in a nomadic breeder.
Oecologia
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Besnard, Aurélien;
Monnat, Jean-Yves;
Cam, Emmanuelle.
(2017)
Breeding habitat selection across spatial scales: is grass always greener on the other side?.
Ecology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Grégoire, Arnaud;
Rat, Margaux;
Spottiswoode, Claire N.;
Dijk, René E. van;
Paquet, Mathieu.
(2015)
Disruptive viability selection on a black plumage trait associated with dominance.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Academic article
-
Acker, Paul;
Robert, Alexandre;
Bourget, Romain;
Colas, Bruno.
(2014)
Heterogeneity of reproductive age increases the viability of semelparous populations.
Functional Ecology
Academic article
Teaching
This year (2025), I am teaching in a PhD course on quantifying quantitative genetic parameters in wild populations using animal models in STAN at NTNU (under the umbrella of the course BI8091 'Advanced Biology').
In 2024, I led a full PhD course on quantifying natural selection in wild populations using Bayesian capture-recapture models at NTNU (under the umbrella of the course BI8091 'Advanced Biology').
In 2023/24, I taught for several sessions on the role of plasticity in adaptive evolution in the PhD course 'Advanced Evolutionary Biology' (BI8083) at NTNU.
In 2018/19 and 2019/20, I gave a lecture on capture-recapture methodologies in the Population Ecology MSc course at the University of Aberdeen (UK).
Supervision
Current students:
- Victorine George (2023-2026) – PhD candidate at the University of Western Britanny. I am co-supervising her PhD (with Emmanuelle Cam and Jane Reid) on migration and reporudction phenology of kittiwakes in the context of climate change. I am co-hosting multiple secondments of Victorine at NTNU, for which she was awarded mobility grants from UBO and ISBLUE.
- Cassandra Ugland (2022-2025) – PhD candidate at NTNU. I am co-supervising her PhD (with Jane Reid and Francis Daunt) on the evolutionary ecology of juvenile sesonal movement in a partially migratory population of European shags.
- Lisa Sandmeyer (2024-2025) – PhD candidate at the University of Montpellier. I am co-supervising one chapter of her PhD (with Claire Doutrelant and Yimen Araya-Ajoy), about survival selection on colour plumage traits in blue tits. I hosted two secondments of Lisa at NTNU for which she was granted the SQUID Student Fellowship and the ESEB Hewitt Mobility Award.
Past students:
- Chantelle Cove (2019) – MSc student, University of Aberdeen. Demography and viability of a seabird colony under climate change. Co-supervised with Ana Payo-Payo and Jane Reid.
- Alexis Corbara (2017) – Master student, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon. Survival selection on colour traits in blue tits. Co-supervised with Claire Doutrelant and Arnaud Grégoire.
- Lucie Aulus (2016) – Master student ('Césure Agro'), Montpellier SupAgro. Individuals-based modelling of colonial bird metapopulations. Co-supervised with Aurélien Besnard and Charlotte Francesiaz.
- Tangi Le Bot (2015) – Master student, AgroCampus Ouest Rennes. Prospection behaviour in a metapopulation of kittiwakes. Co-supervised with Emmanuelle Cam.
Outreach
2025
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Academic lectureFortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Acker, Paul; Ugland, Cassandra Regine; Burthe, Sarah J.; Gunn, Carrie; Haaland, Thomas Ray. (2025) Conflicting temporal dynamics of selection, additive genetic variance and plasticity in early-life seasonal migration versus residence constrain the potential for rapid adaptive evolution. ESEB 2025 , Barcelona 2025-08-16 - 2025-08-21
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Newell, Mark A.. (2025) Environment-specific additive genetic variances for adult survival reveal dramatic contrasts in adaptive evolution across highly fluctuating conditions. ESEB 2025 , Barcelona 2025-08-16 - 2025-08-21
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Academic lectureGeorge, Victorine; Cam, Emmanuelle; Reid, Jane Margaret; Acker, Paul. (2025) New approaches to quantifying phenological plasticity reveal underlying individual variation in a threatened seabird. Oikos Norway 2025 2025-04-09 - 2025-04-12
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PosterUgland, Cassandra Regine; Acker, Paul; Burthe, Sarah J.; Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Gunn, Carrie; Harris, Michael P.. (2025) Early-life variation in plasticity and selection drives within and among-cohort variation in partial seasonal migration. Oikos Norway 2025 2025-04-09 - 2025-04-12
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Academic lectureHaaland, Thomas Ray; Acker, Paul; Payo-Payo, Ana; Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Vickers, Stephen; Ugland, Cassandra Regine. (2025) Plastic versus evolutionary responses to rapid environmental change in partially migratory metapopulations. Oikos Norway 2025 2025-04-09 - 2025-04-12
2024
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Academic lectureFortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Acker, Paul; Ugland, Cassandra Regine; Burthe, Sarah J.; Harris, Michael P.; Newell, Mark A.. (2024) Genetic variances and selection on plasticity in early-life seasonal migration vary among seasons and years in a partially migratory population. 3rd Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology , Montréal 2024-07-26 - 2024-07-30
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Newell, Mark A.; Reid, Jane Margaret. (2024) How phenotypic plasticity interacts with evolution in discrete traits. 3rd Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology , Montréal 2024-07-26 - 2024-07-30
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Reid, Jane Margaret. (2024) Evolutionary properties of phenotypic plasticity in discrete traits. Life is plastic: How phenotypic plasticity makes us rethink central problems in biology , Roscoff 2024-06-17 - 2024-06-21
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PosterBonamour, Suzanne; Acker, Paul; Fortuna, Rita Alexandra Fernandes Goncalves; Ugland, Cassandra Regine; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah. (2024) Escape from upheavals: early-life phenotypic plasticity of seasonal migration versus residence in European shags. Life is plastic: How phenotypic plasticity makes us rethink central problems in biology , Roscoff 2024-06-17 - 2024-06-21
2023
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Academic lectureHaaland, Thomas Ray; Payo-Payo, Ana; Acker, Paul; Fortuna, Rita; Burthe, Sarah J.; Ratikainen, Irja Ida. (2023) Eco-evolutionary dynamics of partially migratory metapopulations. BOU 2023 , Nottingham, UK 2023-04-04 - 2023-04-06
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Harris, Michael P.; Newell, Mark A.. (2023) Capture-recapture animal model for quantitative genetic decomposition of variance in seasonal migration versus residence. EURING Analytical Meeting , Montpellier 2023-04-17 - 2023-04-21
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Academic lectureHaaland, Thomas Ray; Payo-Payo, Ana; Acker, Paul; Fortuna, Rita; Burthe, Sarah J; Ratikainen, Irja Ida. (2023) Eco-evolutionary dynamics of partially migratory metapopulations. Oikos Norway 2023 , NMBU, Ås 2023-02-13 - 2023-02-15
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul. (2023) Phenotypic plasticity of discrete traits. Annual Meeting of GDR PlastPhen , Montpellier 2023-11-24 -
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Academic lectureUgland, Cassandra Regine; Acker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Fortuna, Rita; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah. (2023) Early-life development and selection on partial migration in the European Shag. BOU Annual Conference: “Evolutionary responses” , Nottingham 2023-04-05 -
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Academic lectureFortuna, Rita; Acker, Paul; Ugland, Cassandra Regine; Burthe, Sarah J.; Newell, Mark A.; Morley, Tim I.. (2023) Using a multistate capture-recapture animal model to estimate additive genetic variance in early-life seasonal movement. EURING Analytical Meeting 2023-04-17 -
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PosterFortuna, Rita; Acker, Paul; Ugland, Cassandra Regine; Burthe, Sarah J.; Newell, Mark A.; Morley, Tim I.. (2023) Additive genetic variance in early-life partial seasonal migration. BOU Annual Conference: “Evolutionary responses” , Nottingham 2023-04-05 -
2022
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PosterUgland, Cassandra Regine; Acker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Fortuna, Rita; Burthe, Sarah; Wanless, Sarah. (2022) Strong natural selection on early life expression of seasonal migration vs. residence. British Ecological Society Annual Meeting 2022 , Edinburgh 2022-12-18 - 2022-12-21
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J; Reid, Jane Margaret. (2022) Quantifying individual variation, selection, and additive genetic variance in migration versus residence with full-annual-cycle capture-recapture models. International Statistical Ecology Conference 2022-06-27 - 2022-07-01
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Harris, Mike P.; Newell, Mark A.. (2022) Hierarchical plasticity, and selection on plasticity, shape the dynamics of seasonal movement. ESEB Congress , Prague 2022-08-15 - 2022-08-19
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Academic lectureReid, Jane Margaret; Acker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Wanless, Sarah; Harris, Michael P.. (2022) Eco-evolutionary dynamics under spatio-seasonal environmental change. European Society for Evolutionary Biology Congress 2022-08-14 - 2022-08-19
2021
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PosterMoullec, Mathilde Le; Acker, Paul; Grøtan, Vidar; Lee, Aline Magdalena; Herfindal, Ivar; O'Hara, Bob. (2021) How can we assess temporal changes in population synchrony?. Annual Meeting of the British Ecological Society , Liverpool, UK 2021-12-12 - 2021-12-15
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Burthe, Sarah J.; Reid, Jane Margaret. (2021) Quantifying individual variation in migration versus residence within and among year: a dynamic-finite-mixture multi-state capture-recapture model. EURING Analytical Meeting , Québec 2021-05-31 -
2020
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Academic lectureAcker, Paul; Daunt, Francis; Wanless, Sarah; Burthe, Sarah J.; Harris, Mike P.; Payo-Payo, Ana. (2020) Characterising hidden individual heterogeneity & plasticity in life-histories: A mixture of tactics along the residence-migration continuum. 7th Evolutionary Demography Society annual meeting , Røros 2020-10-07 -