Staff Profile

Mr Thomas Mason, BSc. MSc.

Contact Mr Thomas Mason

Biography and Research Interests

I have a BSc. in Zoology from the University of Bristol where I spent time studying home range usage and intraspecific competition in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). After leaving Bristol, I completed an MSc. in Conservation and Biodiversity at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus. Whilst there I studied the life-history consequences of individual variation in foraging strategy and phenology in the spring-staging light-bellied brent goose (Brenta bernicla hrota). My PhD research at Durham is focussed on spatial and temporal variation in the life-histories, population dynamics and distribution of the alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). To do this, I am applying ecological modelling techniques to long-term datasets, as well as conducting short-term field studies in the Italian Alps.

Research Groups

• Adaptation & Environment

Is supervised by

• Dr Stephen G Willis
• Dr Philip Stephens

Publications

Journal papers: academic

• Mason, T.H.E., Stephens, P.A., Willis, S.G., Chirichella, R., Apollonio, M. & Richards, S.A. (2012). Intra-seasonal variation in reproductive effort: young males finish last. American Naturalist 180(6): 823-830.
• Mason, T.H.E., Chirichella, R., Richards, S.A., Stephens, P.A., Willis, S.G. & Apollonio, M. (2011). Contrasting life histories in neighbouring populations of a large mammal. PLoS ONE 6(11): e28002.