Paul Jerem

I'm an early-career research ecologist, specialised in field experiments exploiting cutting edge technologies to address questions of fundamental and conservation relevance.

The main focus of my current work – funded by a three-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship – is the development of infrared thermal imaging as a non-invasive tool for inferring physiological state in wild endotherms. The first two years of my fellowship were spent at Tufts University in Boston determining the mechanisms linking body surface temperatures with stress and energetic state in the laboratory. Spending my final year at the NIOO, I will build on these validations with a field demonstration, using thermal imaging within nest boxes to relate between-individual variation in the 'fight-or-flight' stress response with breeding success in wild birds. 

The ultimate goal of my research is to integrate diverse trait data to better understand how phenotypic expression influences individual fitness. I aim to use this information both to identify the underlying reasons why some individuals perish while others are able to prosper, and to predict population dynamics from individual responses to environmental change.