Catrin Allen: MRes Student 2019-2020
Catrin now works in Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture
Previous MRes student at Swansea University. Co-supervised by Dr Hazel Nichols and Dr Jim Bull.
Project: Social Structures in Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas)
The long finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) is a species within the Delphinidae family (Oceanic Dolphins), along with killer whales (Orcinus orca) and Pantropical Spotted Dolphins (Stenella attenuata). Pod compositions and behavioural patterns are similar to that of killer whales (Amos et al., 1993; Stephanis et al., 2008), therefore it is thought that social structures (or societies) may also follow similar patterns; however, this theory is yet to be confirmed. The purpose of this study is to determine the role and behaviours specifically of male pilot whales within these social structures. The questions I am aiming to answer include “What are the characteristics of successful males?”, “Is there evidence that males mate with several females from the same pod at any one time?”, and “How often are both the father and mother of an offspring in the same pod as each other?”.
Previous MRes student at Swansea University. Co-supervised by Dr Hazel Nichols and Dr Jim Bull.
Project: Social Structures in Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas)
The long finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) is a species within the Delphinidae family (Oceanic Dolphins), along with killer whales (Orcinus orca) and Pantropical Spotted Dolphins (Stenella attenuata). Pod compositions and behavioural patterns are similar to that of killer whales (Amos et al., 1993; Stephanis et al., 2008), therefore it is thought that social structures (or societies) may also follow similar patterns; however, this theory is yet to be confirmed. The purpose of this study is to determine the role and behaviours specifically of male pilot whales within these social structures. The questions I am aiming to answer include “What are the characteristics of successful males?”, “Is there evidence that males mate with several females from the same pod at any one time?”, and “How often are both the father and mother of an offspring in the same pod as each other?”.