Graeme Shannon

Graeme Shannon is a Lecturer in Zoology (Behaviour) and Director of Impact and Engagement at the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University. His research and teaching focus on animal behaviour, ecology, and conservation, particularly the impacts of human activities on wildlife, with long-standing expertise in African elephant cognition and more recent work on large herbivores such as fallow deer in North Wales.

His research interests center on behavioural ecology, animal cognition, and the effects of anthropogenic disturbances such as noise and artificial light. He investigates how large herbivores adapt to human-transformed habitats, the ecosystem-level impacts of expanding populations, and the behavioural consequences of environmental noise and light pollution. His work combines field studies, acoustic playback experiments, and advanced technologies like camera traps and genetic metabarcoding.

The trends in his recent publications highlight a strong focus on anthropogenic impacts on wildlife, elephant social cognition, and conservation applications. His work spans from theoretical frameworks in animal communication to applied studies on deer management and disease transmission, frequently published in high-impact journals like Science Advances, Nature Ecology and Evolution, and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

Scientific Awards and Recognition:

• Associate Editor, Journal of Zoology (since 2019)
• Handling Editor, Ecologia (since 2020)
• External Examiner, MSc Wildlife Management and MSc Ecology and Biodiversity, Newcastle University (since 2019)

Advising and Grants:
Graeme Shannon supervises a dynamic group of postgraduate researchers working on topics including elephant movement ecology, fallow deer impacts on woodlands, artificial light effects on amphibians, and noise pollution in songbirds. He leads active research projects such as iDeer: An Integrated Deer Management Platform and red squirrel monitoring, and has secured funding including the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (£19,900) for avian soundscape monitoring. He is currently accepting PhD students interested in human-wildlife interactions.

Research Labs and Teams:
His research is conducted through the Wildlife Research group (www.wildliferesearch.co.uk), employing interdisciplinary methods and collaborations. The team works in diverse ecosystems, from African savannas to Welsh woodlands, integrating citizen science, machine learning, and novel monitoring technologies to address pressing conservation challenges.