I am a zoologist with a background in behavioural ecology and wildlife conservation. I split my time between academia and science communication (read more about my sci-comm activities here).

I work as Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sciences at the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London. I also teach at Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education.

I have previously lectured at the University of Reading, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Oxford.
For a full CV, click on my LinkedIn page.

Education


University of Reading, UK
Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice

University of Oxford, UK
DPhil in Zoology

MSc in Biology (Integrative Bioscience)

Jacobs University Bremen, Germany 

BSc in Biology

Rice University, Houston, USA

Semester abroad

 

Selected research experience

Biotelemetry and semi-aquatic animals

My doctoral thesis, completed at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, focused on investigating the use of miniaturised Time-Depth Recorders (TDRs) for analysing the diving behaviour of semi-aquatic animals. I have used the invasive American mink (Neovison vison) as my model species, and was able to identify dive patterns using TDR depth records, and activity types using TDR temperature records. This work is described in the publications below:

Bagniewska J. M., Harrington, L. A.,  Hart, T., Harrington A. L., Fasola L. & Macdonald, D. W. (2015) Persistence in diving American mink. Animal Biotelemetry, 3(18), doi: 10.1186/s40317-015-0057-4

Macdonald, D. W., Harrington, L. A., Yamaguchi, N., Thom, M. D. F. & Bagniewska, J. M. (2015) Biology, ecology, and reproduction of American mink Neovison vison on lowland farmland. in Wildlife Conservation on Farmland Volume 2: Conflict in the Countryside, eds. Macdonald, D. W. & Feber, R. E. Oxford University Press, USA.

Bagniewska J. M., Hart, T., Harrington, L. A., & Macdonald, D. W. (2013) Hidden Markov analysis describes dive patterns in semi-aquatic animals. Behavioral Ecology,  24 (3), 659-667.

My doctoral research has been funded by the Crescendum Est-Polonia Foundation, and People’s Trust for Endangered Species.

Scent-station research on South-African canids
Inspecting a scent station
Assessing a scent station

For my MSc project I evaluated the use of scent-stations for monitoring relative densities of populations of African canids (particularly black-backed jackals, bat-eared foxes and cape foxes), at sites in Northern Cape and Free State provinces in South Africa. The research was part of a bigger project on the ecology and interaction of canid species, ran by Dr Jan Kamler. More information on making scent-stations and identifying canid tracks can be found here:

Bagniewska, J. M.,  & Kamler , J. F. (2007) Scent-station surveys: instruction manual. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Bagniewska, J. M., & Kamler, J. F. (2013) Do black-backed jackals suppress numbers of smaller carnivores and prey?. African Journal of Ecology. doi: 10.1111/aje.12125.

My MSc research has been supported by the BBSRC, the John Ray Trust, Zoological Society of London, and St Anne’s College, Oxford.

Some of the methodology has been described in Practical Field Ecology: A Project Guide, by C. Philip Wheater, James R. Bell, Penny A. Cook (2011) Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-0-470-69429-9

Selected teaching experience

Field course to Sweden with Reading University students

A large part of my current job is academic teaching, which I absolutely love. My teaching practise ranges from children to early teens to adults; one-on-one tutorials to classes of 300+; lectures, workshops, seminars, field courses, you name it – I’ve done it. My pedagogical expertise also encompasses curriculum design, strategic planning, working with teachers and mentoring.
Teaching-related functions include:

Some teaching-related resources I published include: