The questions, fields, and pursuits that keep me curious — inside and outside the research lab.
The scientific questions and fields I find most compelling — most of which bleed into each other.
The field at the heart of my PhD: studying the psychological relationship between human beings and the natural world. Why does nature make us feel better? What happens to mental health when that connection is severed? Environmental psychology argues these are not just lifestyle questions but fundamental ones about human wellbeing and identity.
Psychoacoustics asks how the brain processes and responds to sound. Eco-acoustics treats soundscapes as ecological entities: indicators of biodiversity and environmental health. My research sits at the overlap, asking how the ecological quality of a soundscape translates into psychological benefit for the people who hear it.
Human activity is now the dominant evolutionary pressure on many species. Urban birds are singing at higher frequencies to be heard over traffic noise. Animals are shifting their activity patterns to avoid human disturbance. Lifespans, body sizes, and behaviours are changing faster than most natural selection. This rapid, human-driven evolution fascinates me and connects directly to questions about soundscape quality.
Thermal infrared cameras can reveal the invisible physiology of animals without any contact or disturbance. Changes in facial skin temperature correlate with stress, arousal, and relaxation in ways that traditional observation misses. I have applied this technology to both animal behaviour research (passerine birds) and human psychology (Study 2 of my PhD), and see thermal imaging as a powerful and underused tool across both fields.
How animals communicate, adapt and respond to a changing world, especially under human pressure.
The neural mechanisms of perception, stress response, and the restorative effect of natural environments.
Using psychological and ecological evidence to build the case for protecting natural habitats and wildlife.
How cities can be redesigned around ecological principles, making green space the default rather than the luxury.
Green prescribing, therapeutic landscapes, and the policy case for nature as a public health intervention.
Using acoustic indices and remote recording to monitor biodiversity — a growing frontier in conservation science.
From lion-tailed macaques in South India to howler monkeys in Brazil, primate ecology and social behaviour.
The power of large-scale volunteer-led data collection, from the Kerala Bird Atlas to community biodiversity surveys.
A few things I enjoy outside of academia.
Spending time in the Welsh hills and coastal paths. The kinds of natural spaces I spend my working life studying. Snowdonia is a favourite.
Exploring the coastal paths and country lanes of North Wales by bike — a good way to cover ground and stay connected to the landscape.
Science writing, philosophy of mind, natural history, and the occasional novel that changes how I see things.
Making research accessible and relevant: talking and writing about ideas beyond the academic bubble.
Using film to bring conservation stories to wider audiences, as in the Darwin 200 howler monkey documentary.