Role
Simon Tollington contributes to a number of undergraduate modules including Animal Biology, Zoology and Zoo Biology
Career overview
Simon has many years' experience working with endemic bird species in Mauritius and has previously held roles at the University of Kent and Chester Zoo.
Research areas
Areas of research include:
Conservation genetics
Invasive species
Impacts of emerging infectious disease on small populations
Parrot Conservation
Supplemental feeding
Using long-term data to examine patterns in reproductive fitness
Zoo conservation
External activity
Simon is a Research Associate at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent.
Publications
Selected publications
Biddle, R., Ponce, I.S., Cun, P., Tollington, S., Jones, M., Marsden, S., Devenish, C., Horstman, E., Berg, K. and Pilgrim, M., 2020. Conservation status of the recently described Ecuadorian Amazon parrot Amazona lilacina. Bird Conservation International, pp.1-13.
Tollington, S., Kareemun, Z., Augustin, A., Lallchand, K., Tatayah, V. and Zimmermann, A., 2019. Quantifying the damage caused by fruit bats to backyard lychee trees in Mauritius and evaluating the benefits of protective netting. PloS one, 14(8), p.e0220955.
Fogell, D.J., Groombridge, J.J., Tollington, S., Canessa, S., Henshaw, S., Zuel, N., Jones, C.G., Greenwood, A. and Ewen, J.G., (2019). Hygiene and biosecurity protocols reduce infection prevalence but do not improve fledging success in an endangered parrot. Scientific reports, 9(1), p.4779.
Tollington, S., Ewen, J., Newton, J., McGill, R., Smith, D., Henshaw, A., Fogell, D., Tatayah, V., Greenwood, A., Jones, C., and Groombridge, J. (2018) Individual consumption of supplemental food as a predictor of reproductive performance and viral infection intensity. Journal of Applied Ecology.
Aziz, M.A., Smith, O., Barlow, A., Tollington, S., Islam, M.A. and Groombridge, J.J., (2018). Do rivers influence fine-scale population genetic structure of tigers in the Sundarbans? Conservation Genetics, pp.1-15.
Verissimo, D., Campbell, H. A., Tollington, S., MacMillan, D. C., and Smith, R J. (2018) Why do people donate to conservation? Insights from a ‘real world’ campaign. PLoS ONE. 13(1): e0191888.
Aziz, M.A., Tollington, S., Barlow, A., Greenwood, C., Goodrich, J.M., Smith, O., Shamsuddoha, M., Islam, M.A. and Groombridge, J.J., (2017). Using non-invasively collected genetic data to estimate density and population size of tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Global Ecology and Conservation.
Aziz, M. A., Tollington, S., Barlow, A., Goodrich, J., Shamsuddoha, M., Islam, M. A., & Groombridge, J. J. (2017). Investigating patterns of tiger and prey poaching in the Bangladesh Sundarbans: Implications for improved management. Global Ecology and Conservation, 9, 70-81.
Tollington, S., Turbe, A., Groombridge, J., Rabbitsch, W., Scalera, R., Essl, F. and Shwartz, A. (2015) Making the EU Legislation on Invasive Species a Conservation Success. Conservation Letters.
Tollington, S., Greenwood, A., Jones, C., Hoeck, P., Tatayah., V., and Groombridge, J. (2015) Long-term monitoring of an endangered parakeet population reveals disproportionate effects of viral outbreak on productivity of supplementary-fed birds but little signal of immune response. Journal of Animal Ecology. 84, 969-977
Jackson, H., Strubbe, D., Tollington, S.; Prys-Jones, R.; Matthysen, E. and Groombridge, J. (2015) Ancestral origins and invasion pathways of the globally invasive ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) correlate with climate and influences from bird trade. Molecular Ecology. 24, 4269-4285
Tollington, S., Jones, C., Greenwood, A.,Tatayah, V., Raisin, C., Burke, T., Dawson, D. and Groombridge, J. (2013) Long-term, fine-scale temporal patterns of genetic diversity in the restored Mauritius parakeet reveal genetic impacts of management and associated demographic effects on reintroduction programmes. Biological Conservation. 161, 28-38.