I was born in Alton Staffordshire, in 1968, and even as a toddler had a fascination with wildlife: I spent most of my childhood birdwatching and pond dipping. I studied Zoology for my degree in Manchester, before becoming a PhD student at Glasgow supervised by Bob Furness, where I studied population ecology of great skuas in Shetland. I then spent a short spell collecting and analysing seabird transect data for JNCC in Aberdeen before becoming RSPBs’ seabird biologist for the following 13 years. Whilst there I conducted research to help inform RSPBs policy and management regarding seabirds, particularly demographic studies throughout the Atlantic region (including the Azores, Cape Verde, Tristan da Cunha and Greenland). I worked two consecutive winters lecturing on cruise ships in the Antarctic for Quark Expeditions, visiting most of the South Shetlands, northern Antarctic Peninsula and the north coast of South Georgia. I began work for BAS in 2008 and have developed a diverse portfolio of research on penguins, shags and auks.
My key research interests are in seabird population and foraging ecology and how these are influenced by oceanographic processes, fisheries interactions, competition and predation. My main goal is to deliver excellent research that has significant applied benefits in terms of informing conservation policy and management, including that relating to climate change, marine protected areas, invasive species and fisheries.
I currently study the foraging and population ecology of high latitude diving seabirds at British Antarctic Survey, focusing on penguins, shags and auks. The work mainly involves collecting data using hi-tech tracking equipment which are subjected to advanced statistical modelling methods to elucidate migration patterns and foraging strategies. Current projects include:
1. Niche partitioning among penguins in the South Atlantic
2. Niche partitioning among breeding Alcids in Arctic Norway
3. Individual specialisation in diving behaviour and diet in blue-eyed shags
4. Relationships between foraging behaviour, habitat use and diet in gentoo penguins.
5. Winter movements of king penguins
6. Development of marine protected areas for macaroni penguins around the UK and French OTs
7. Macaroni penguin demography
I currently have collaborations with the Universities of Glasgow, Exeter, Liverpool, Reading, Cape Town, Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Coimbra (Portugal) and the research institute CNRS (France). I also have links to government departments and NGOs, including RSPB, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Falklands Conservation, Tristan Conservation, Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and CCAMLR.
See a list of my publications on Google Scholar:
http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F4-oPqENxQD_VMc_ctHrwGAKgx1Sc4hbme8kKfdrhaxZKqPoZzNfkdRdBJ3VSuv02fq8C7T8rzhKWMUIho7bBt12y2dlA&user=qUBQ_tAZKUYC
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., Ratcliffe, N., & Bennison, A. (2026). Gentoo penguin nesting chronology at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1988 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5d497e91-29a6-4760-a9b0-904c93052671
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., Ratcliffe, N., & Bennison, A. (2026). Fledging weights of macaroni penguin chicks from a colony at Fairy Point, Bird Island, from 1989 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/694d1d07-da51-42b7-94b0-4404e50bdf99
Bennison, A., Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2026). Fledging weights of Gentoo penguin chicks from a colony at Johnson Cove, Bird Island, from 1989 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/41c6b474-241a-494d-83a0-e4e6c4a846da
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., Ratcliffe, N., & Bennison, A. (2026). Breeding success of macaroni penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1978 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8902f094-1d1f-4092-9aa5-180a2a8e57ec
Ratcliffe, N., Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Bennison, A. (2026). Breeding success of Gentoo penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1981 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8fedb5a0-b98c-4457-9d86-aae9c6d3ed8e
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., Ratcliffe, N., & Bennison, A. (2026). Arrival weights of macaroni penguins at Bird Island, from 1988 to 2025 – VERSION 2.0 (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/472713db-3724-442f-8a24-a1f8834123d9
Trathan, P., Lowther, A., Manco, F., Ratcliffe, N., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). TDR tracks of chinstrap penguins at the South Orkneys Islands, 2011-2019 [Version 2.0] (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/da13e049-be2b-4345-bbdd-ab960cb24731
Ratcliffe, N., Manco, F., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). TDR tracks of Adelie penguins at Signy Island, South Orkneys Islands, 2011-2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/bf62d713-93e5-487f-acba-1ec2da35c7e1
Ratcliffe, N., Manco, F., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). TDR tracks gentoo penguins at Signy Island, South Orkneys Islands, 2011-2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/ff0cbcb7-bdad-4d03-bdf2-a54c54d67d9f
Trathan, P., Lowther, A., Manco, F., Ratcliffe, N., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). GPS tracks of chinstrap penguins at the South Orkney Islands, 2011-2019 [Version 2.0] (Version 2.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8f8ccba5-01af-4b00-8a3b-c3c85b24bf92
Ratcliffe, N., Manco, F., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). GPS tracks of Adelie penguins at Signy Island, South Orkneys Islands, 2011-2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/55b4d36f-c5e1-4d64-bb14-0b832dcd4b88
Ratcliffe, N., Manco, F., & Manthorpe, S. (2025). GPS tracks gentoo penguins at Signy Island, South Orkneys Islands, 2011-2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/9cb04ca6-f88f-4368-b715-45ff73ff81eb
Dunn, M., Adlard, S., Taylor, A., Wood, A., Trathan, P., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Un-crewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) derived population counts of gentoo and chinstrap penguin and South Georgia shag colonies on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, 2016-2018 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/f3d9004a-e788-4104-a1a9-54fa80b533a1
Ratcliffe, N., & Bonnet-Lebrun, A. (2021). GPS and Time-Depth Recorder tracking of common and Brunnich’s guillemots from five colonies around Iceland, June-July 2019-2021 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c7ec736c-e1b0-48b5-b9b9-e68aa5adfcc3
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Gentoo penguin nesting chronology at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1988 to 2019 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/f9993ee9-085f-42cf-b008-5373526b2bcf
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Fledging weights of Macaroni penguin chicks from a colony at Fairy Point, Bird Island, from 1989 to 2020 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/85356871-55ee-4b92-a9e8-9b370c843936
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Fledging weights of Gentoo penguin chicks from a colony at Johnson Cove, Bird Island, from 1989 to 2020 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8d60d83b-d880-4042-b344-42d0551e65be
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Breeding success of Macaroni penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1982 to 2020 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/1a266e7b-ef8d-4db7-8e7c-155be21d17cd
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Breeding success of Gentoo penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia, from 1982 to 2020 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c8d5a7a4-e19b-497f-b7ae-56f9a2b15a56
Trathan, P., Waluda, C., & Ratcliffe, N. (2021). Arrival weights of Macaroni penguins at Bird Island, from 1988 to 2020 – VERSION 1.0 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/a5174472-204d-45d4-862c-3befc32b52ca
Ratcliffe, N., & Love, K. (2020). Platform transmitting terminal (PTT) tracking of Gentoo penguins at South Georgia, winter 2018 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/01e8e674-0403-4cca-8271-415b63130c3d
Steinfurth, A., Ratcliffe, N., & Bond, A. (2018). Northern Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi TDR data from Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, 2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01116
Steinfurth, A., Ratcliffe, N., & Bond, A. (2018). Northern Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi PIT data from Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, 2016-2018 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01115
Steinfurth, A., Ratcliffe, N., & Bond, A. (2018). Northern Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi GPS data from Nightingale and Inaccessible islands, Tristan da Cunha, 2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01114
Steinfurth, A., Ratcliffe, N., & Bond, A. (2018). Northern Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi GLS data from Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, 2016-2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01113
Steinfurth, A., Ratcliffe, N., & Bond, A. (2018). Northern Rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi breeding success on Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, 2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01112
Ratcliffe, N., & Clewlow, H. (2018). GPS and Time-Depth Recorder tracking of Adelie and Chinstrap penguins from Signy Island 2011 – 2016 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/b759af06-2bb6-470e-bbac-f89fa1f940f0
A BAS science team has returned from Snow Hill emperor penguin colony, where they have conducted survey work, collected guano samples for DNA analysis and deployed the first tracking tags on emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea.
The first comprehensive scientific survey of Zavodovski Island, home to the world’s largest penguin colony.
CONSEC explores how climate change and human activity are transforming the Southern Ocean, guiding global science and conservation.
The winter krill project monitors Antarctic krill and predator overlap around South Georgia. Research informs conservation and ecosystem management.
This project tracked 16 gentoo penguins using satellite transmitters to examine overlaps in the distribution of penguin foraging and krill catches, and the dependence of penguins on krill for food during winter.
Higher Predators carries out long-term science to measure changes in Antarctic ecosystems. The aim is to understand the processes that drive these changes.
Polar Expertise – Supporting Development
The aim of this project is to understand the biological and physical factors that produce the very large swarms of krill, or “krill hotspots” that are found in the South Orkneys region.
PhD student Kirsty Franklin reports on her fieldwork on Round Island, Mauritius, working in collaboration with British Antarctic Survey. In the blog below, Kirsty shares how she is going to […]
As part of the Project LOMVIA, a small team of researchers headed to Grimsey Island, 40 kilometres off the north coast of Iceland. Fabrice Le Bouard tells us more about […]
After the initial reconnaissance expedition in 2018, this June Project LOMVIA – part of the NERC Changing Arctic Ocean Programme begins in earnest (read more about last year’s work here). […]
Norman Ratcliffe, a seabird biologist at British Antarctic Survey (BAS), studies the biology of seabirds and how this is impacted by climate change. Read this blog to find out about […]
Norman Ratcliffe, a seabird ecologist at British Antarctic Survey, studies the biology of seabirds and how this is impacted by climate change. His latest research – Project LOMVIA – is […]
Norman Ratcliffe, a seabird ecologist at British Antarctic Survey, studies the biology of seabirds and how this is impacted by climate change. His latest research – Project LOMVIA – is […]
Penguins on the sub-Antarctic Islands of South Georgia have tested positive for Avian flu. This is the first time the virus has been detected in gentoo and king penguin populations on the islands.
Researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have carried out aerial surveys of the remote volcanic Zavodovski Island in the sub-Antarctic to count the largest penguin colony in the world.
Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022.
Drones, or un-crewed aerial vehicles, are helping scientists to survey remote colonies of seabirds more rapidly and efficiently than ever before. The results, which show population change in three seabird […]
Gentoo penguins are benefiting from a newly enlarged no-fishing zone (known as a No-Take Zone NTZ) around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia following British Antarctic Survey (BAS) tracking research […]
A new study published this week (7 January 2020) identifies a need for fishery managers to adopt clear objectives for the protection of seabirds and mammals. It is published in […]
Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have, for the first time, tracked the lives of leopard seals as they migrate around Antarctica. The team followed these formidable predators as they […]
