Professor Richard Holland

Professor in Animal Behaviour / Director of Research

Contact info

Room: 531 Brambell

Email: r.holland@bangor.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)1248 382344

Web: Bangor Animal Navigation Group  Google Scholar Researchgate

 

My research and teaching interests fall broadly in the area of animal behaviour and sensory biology. I am the course co-ordinator for the Zoology with Animal Behaviour degree (C3D3) and teach on several animal behaviour focused modules, as well as ornithology. My research questions focus the cognitive processes and sensory mechanisms by which animals navigate and migrate. While my principle focus is at the level of the whole organism I also incorporate aspects of neurobiology, molecular biology, and physics to identify the  environmental cues, sensory pathways and mechanisms used by animals to decide how, when and where to move. My work also operates in a comparative framework as I compare and contrast across species, taxa, age class, spatial scale and sensory mechanisms to reveal how natural selection has acted to shape navigation behaviour in different animal groups. New avenues my lab is exploring include the impact of artificial light and electromagnetic noise on navigation and spatial cognition, and the impact of antimicrobial resistant bacteria on bird behaviour.

Biography:

2021-2024, Director of Research, School of Natural Sciences

2020-current, Professor in Animal Behaviour

2017-2020, Senior Lecturer, Bangor University

2016-2017, Lecturer, Bangor University

2011-2016, Lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast

2009-2010, Research scientist, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology

2006-2008, Marie Curie Outgoing International fellow, Princeton University and University of Leeds

2002-2005, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Leeds

1999-2002, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Nebraska

1994-1998, DPhil, Oxford University

1990-1993, BSc (Hons), University of Nottingham

Research Area

Zoology

  1. E-pub ahead of print

    A refined magnetic pulse treatment method for magnetic navigation experiments with adequate sham control: a case study on free-flying songbirds

    Karwinkel, T., Winklhofer, M., Allenstein, D., Burst, V., Christoph, P., Holland, R., Huppop, O., Steen, J., Bairlein, F. & Schamaljohann, H., 15 May 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of the Royal Society: Interface. 21, 214

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  2. Published

    Navigation by extrapolation of geomagnetic cues in a migratory songbird

    Kishkinev, D., Packmor, F., Thomas, Z., Hans, W., Mouritsen, H., Chernetsov, N. & Holland, R., 12 Apr 2021, In: Current Biology. 31, 7, p. 1563-1569

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  3. Published

    Anosmic migrating songbirds demonstrate a compensatory response following long-distance translocation: a radio-tracking study

    Kishkinev, D., Anashina, A., Ishchenko, I. & Holland, R. A., Jan 2020, In: Journal of Ornithology. 161, 1, p. 47-57

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  4. Polarized skylight does not calibrate the compass system of a migratory bat

    Lindecke, O., Voigt, C. C., Petersons, G. & Holland, R., 16 Sept 2015, In: Biology Letters. 11, 9, p. 1-4

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  5. Published

    Experienced migratory bats integrate the sun's position at dusk for navigation at night

    Lindecke, O., Elksne, A., Holland, R. A., Petersons, G. & Voigt, C. C., 22 Apr 2019, In: Current Biology. 29, p. 1369-1373

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  6. Published

    Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

    Lindecke, O., Elksne, A., Holland, R., Petersons, G. & Voigt, C. C., 1 May 2019, In: Journal of Zoology. 308, 1, p. 56-65

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  7. Published

    Corneal sensitivity is required for orientation in free-flying migratory bats

    Lindecke, O., Holland, R., Petersons, G. & Voigt, C. C., 5 May 2021, In: Communications Biology. 4, 1, 522.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  8. Place versus response learning in fish: a comparison between species

    McAroe, C. L., Craig, C. M. & Holland, R., Jan 2016, In: Animal Cognition. 19, 1, p. 153-161

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  9. Published

    Shoaling promotes place over response learning but does not facilitate individual learning of that strategy in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

    McAroe, C. L., Craig, C. M. & Holland, R., 2017, In: BMC Zoology. 2, 10

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  10. Published

    A comparison of machine-learning assisted optical and thermal camera systems for beehive activity counting

    Morton Williams, S., Bariselli, S., Palego, C., Holland, R. & Cross, P., 1 Dec 2022, In: Smart Agricultural Technology. 2, 100038.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review