Professor Richard Holland
Professor in Animal Behaviour / Director of Research
Affiliations
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
- 2017
- 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, 10Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2016
- Published
Plasticity varies with boldness in a weakly-electric fish
Kareklas, K., Arnott, G., Elwood, R. W. & Holland, R., 6 Jun 2016, In: Frontiers in Zoology. 13, 22Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
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. 153-161Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2015
-
True navigation in migrating gulls requires intact olfactory nerves
Wikelski, M., Arriero, E., Gagliardo, A., Holland, R. A., Huttunen, M. J., Juvaste, R., Mueller, I., Tertitski, G., Thorup, K., Wild, M., Alanko, M., Bairlein, F., Cherenkov, A., Cameron, A., Flatz, R., Hannila, J., Hueppop, O., Kangasniemi, M., Kranstauber, B., Penttinen, M-L., Safi, K., Semashko, V., Schmid, H. & Wistbacka, R., 24 Nov 2015, In: Scientific Reports. 5, 17061.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
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. 1-4Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2014
-
True navigation in birds: from quantum physics to global migration
Holland, R., May 2014, In: Journal of Zoology. 293, 1, p. 1-15Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
- Published
A functional role of the sky’s polarization pattern for orientation in the greater mouse-eared bat
Greif, S., Borissov, I., Yovel, Y. & Holland, R., 2014, In: Nature Communications. 5, 4488.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2013
-
Flexibility of Continental Navigation and Migration in European Mallards
van Toor, M. L., Hedenstrom, A., Waldenstrom, J., Fiedler, W., Holland, R. A., Thorup, K. & Wikelski, M., 30 Aug 2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 8, e72629.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
A magnetic pulse does not affect homing pigeon navigation: a GPS tracking experiment
Holland, R., Filannino, C. & Gagliardo, A., 29 May 2013, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 216, 12, p. 2192-2200 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
A strong magnetic pulse affects the precision of departure direction of naturally migrating adult but not juvenile birds
Holland, R. A. & Helm, B., 6 Apr 2013, In: Journal of the Royal Society, Interface. 10, 81, 20121047.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2012
-
Orientation of vagrant birds on the Faroe Islands in the Atlantic Ocean
Thorup, K., Ortvad, T., Holland, R., Rabøl, J., Kristensen, M. & Wikelski, M., 1 Oct 2012, In: Journal of Ornithology. 153, 4, p. 1261-1265 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2011
-
Emergence time and foraging activity in Pallas' mastiff bat, Molossus molossus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in relation to sunset/sunrise and phase of the moon
Holland, R. A., Meyer, C. F. J., Kalko, E. K. V., Kays, R. & Wikelski, M., Dec 2011, In: Acta Chiropterologica. 13, 2, p. 399-404 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Migratory navigation in birds: new opportunities in an era of fast-developing tracking technology
Guilford, T., Akesson, S., Gagliardo, A., Holland, R. A., Mouritsen, H., Muheim, R., Wiltschko, R., Wiltschko, W. & Bingman, V. P., Nov 2011, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 214, 22, p. 3705-3712 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Juvenile Songbirds Compensate for Displacement to Oceanic Islands during Autumn Migration
Thorup, K., Ortvad, T. E., Rabol, J., Holland, R., Tottrup, A. P. & Wikelski, M., 2011, In: PLoS ONE. 6, 3, e17903.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2010
-
Differential effects of magnetic pulses on the orientation of naturally migrating birds
Holland, R., 6 Nov 2010, In: Journal of the Royal Society, Interface. 7, 52, p. 1617-1625 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
A nocturnal mammal, the greater mouse-eared bat, calibrates a magnetic compass by the sun
Holland, R., Borissov, I. & Siemers, B. M., 13 Apr 2010, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 107, 15, p. 6941-6945 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Large-Range Movements of Neotropical Orchid Bees Observed via Radio Telemetry
Wikelski, M., Moxley, J., Eaton-Mordas, A., Lopez-Uribe, M. M., Holland, R., Moskowitz, D., Roubik, D. W. & Kays, R., 2010, In: PLoS ONE. 5Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Orientation and Navigation in Bats
Holland, R., 2010, Encyclopedia of Animal Behaviour. Academic Press, Vol. 2. p. 177-185 9 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
-
Understanding the migratory orientation program of birds: extending laboratory studies to study free flying migrants in a natural setting
Thorup, K., Holland, R., Tottrup, A. & Wikelski, M., 2010, In: Integrative and Comparative Biology. 50, 3, p. 315-322 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2009
-
Studying the migratory behavior of individual bats: Current techniques and future directions
Holland, R. & Wikelski, M., 15 Dec 2009, In: Journal of Mammalogy. 90, 6, p. 1324-1329 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Testing the role of sensory systems in the migratory heading of a songbird
Holland, R., Thorup, K., Gagliardo, A., Bisson, I. A., Knecht, E., Mizrahi, D. & Wikelski, M., 15 Dec 2009, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 212, 24, p. 4065-4071 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
The bird GPS - long-range navigation in migrants
Thorup, K. & Holland, R., 15 Nov 2009, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 212, 22, p. 3597-3604 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Evidence for repeated independent evolution of migration in the largest family of bats
Bisson, I. A., Safi, K. & Holland, R., 21 Oct 2009, In: PLoS ONE. 4, 10Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
The Secret Life of Oilbirds: New Insights into the Movement Ecology of a Unique Avian Frugivore
Holland, R., Wikelski, M., Kummeth, F. & Bosque, C., 2009, In: PLoS ONE. 4, 12, e8264.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2008
-
Bats use magnetite to detect the earth's magnetic field
Holland, R., Kirschvink, J. L., Doak, T. G. & Wikelski, M., 27 Feb 2008, In: PLoS ONE. 3, 2Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review