​​Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter (2024-date):

 

Sophie Ridgway, NERC-funded PhD Student, 2025-2028

 

Thesis: Integrating cognition and behavioural research to improve red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) reintroduction strategies

Supervisory Team: Dr Rachael Miller and Prof Alex Thornton (Exeter University), Liz Corry (Wildwood Trust), Dr Malcolm Burgess (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; Exeter University), Dr Malcolm Nicoll (Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London)

Further info:  Sophie has always been fascinated by '"feathered apes" - parrots and corvids - whose remarkable cognitive abilities have been extensively documented. After completing her BSc in Wildlife Conservation with Zoo Biology (University of Salford) and MSc in Zoo Conservation Biology (University of Plymouth), she began her professional career as a bird keeper/ trainer at Newquay Zoo and Paradise Park, Cornwall. These roles led to Sophie participating in several international conservation initiatives, including: Tambopata Macaw Project (Peru), Operation Wallacea (Mexico), Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre (Indonesia) and the reintroduction of scarlet macaw (Mexico). From 2018-2025, Sophie was a Lecturer and Course Manager in Animal Sciences at Reaseheath College, teaching Further Education and Higher Education students. During this period, Sophie worked with Dr Miller as a Research Assistant, leading to a co-authored publication (Miller et al., 2025, Animal Behaviour). This collaboration helped to shape Sophie's research interests in avian cognition and behaviour, providing the research experience that ultimately led to her current PhD project and position. 

Publications: Miller R, Boeckle M, Ridgway S, Richardson J, Uhl F, Bugnyar T, Schwab C (2025) Social attention across development in common ravens and carrion/hooded crows. Animal Behaviour 220, 123038

Funding: UKRI NERC (3.5 years)

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-ridgway-3ba797254

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Sophie Nash, MSci Zoology, 2022-2026

 

Final Year Thesis: The effects of neophobia on social behaviour in red-billed choughs

Supervisory Team: Prof Alex Thornton and Dr Rachael Miller (Exeter University)

Further info: alongside her studies, Sophie gained experience through short-term roles, ranging from surveying student opinions on sustainability education to supporting outreach of Exeter Women in Conservation Committee, and monitoring lemur and herpetofauna populations in Madagascar. Sophie also volunteers with several national conservation organisations, including as a lead volunteer for the Falmouth hub of the Rock Pool Project, and is a member of the youth advisory boards for The Woodland Trust and Another Way. She hopes to continue working to bridge the fields of animal cognition and conservation after graduation.

Grade: Projected 1st Class

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-nash1/ ​​