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

Director of research, School of Natural Sciences

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.

Biography:

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:

Animal Physiology, Behaviour and Conservation

  1. Article › Research › Peer-reviewed
  2. 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 journalArticlepeer-review

  3. Echolocation signal structure in the Megachiropteran bat Rousettus aegyptiacus Geoffroy 1810

    Holland, R., Waters, D. A. & Rayner, J. M. V., Dec 2004, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 207, 25, p. 4361-4369 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  4. Echolocation signals and pinnae movement in the fruitbat Rousettus aegyptiacus

    Holland, R. & Waters, D. A., 2005, In: Acta Chiropterologica. 7, 1, p. 83-90 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  5. 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 journalArticlepeer-review

  6. Evidence for a navigational map stretching across the continental US in a migratory songbird

    Thorup, K., Bisson, I. A., Bowlin, M. S., Holland, R., Wingfield, J. C., Ramenofsky, M. & Wikelski, M., 13 Nov 2007, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 104, 46, p. 18115-18119 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  7. 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, 10

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  8. 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

  9. Published

    Fish learn collectively, but groups with differing personalities are slower to decide 1 and more likely to split

    Kareklas, K., Elwood, R. W. & Holland, R., 2018, In: Biology Open. 2018, 7, bio033613.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  10. 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 journalArticlepeer-review

  11. Published

    Flexibility of habitat use innovel environments: Insights from a translocation experiment with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

    van Toor, M., Arriero, E., Holland, R., J. Huttunen, M., Juvaste, R., Müller, I., Thorup, K., Wikelski, M. & Safi, K., 18 Jan 2017, In: Royal Society Open Science. 4, 160164.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review