Eleanor Benson

Master's by Research Student at the University of Exeter in the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour (CRAB) in partnership with the Center for Whale Research. I received a First Class BSc in Zoology from the University of Exeter and have research experience spanning behavioural ecology, marine conservation and field biology. I am highly organised, analytical and collaborative, with experience supervising undergraduate researchers, behavioural coding using BORIS, and communicating science to both academic and public audiences. I am passionate about advancing animal behaviour research while making science more accessible to wider communities.

Masters by research

September 2025-present

• Conducting behavioural analysis of drone footage collected by the Centre for Whale Research using BORIS.
• Analysing specific social behaviours including physical contact and synchronous surfacing
• Developed specialist expertise in identifying allokelping behaviour from drone footage.
• Developed expertise in individual identification of the southern resident killer whales.
• Supervising and coordinating undergraduate researchers contributing to data collection.
• Presenting research at the ASAB Spring Conference 2026 poster session
• PTA experience marking and teaching on the Wild Animal Behaviour field course in Margam Country Park

Volunteer  | SPOT Turtle Project, North Cyprus

Aug 2024 – Oct 2024

• Collected data for a long-term dataset on the nest success of the local green and loggerhead turtle population.
• Assisted with excavation of hatched, failed, unfertilised and predated nests.
• Co-led both public hatchling release events, communicating vital conservation research to the public.
• Optional lab training, where I participated in necropsies of bycatch turtles and led analyses on dietary and plastic gut contents.
• Assisted with habitat conservation through beach cleans and equipment maintenance.

Volunteer Research Assistant | University of Exeter

March 2023-December 2023

• Conducted behavioural video coding of jackdaw chick nest-box footage using BORIS for inter-rater reliability for a Masters student of Alex Thornton.
• Assisted undergraduate research investigating herring gull responses to human gaze direction.
• Supported research examining the impact of outreach sessions on primary school children's perceptions of urban gulls.
• These research commitments were managed alongside final-year undergraduate studies.

Field research experience

June 2023 & September 2023

• Scotland: wild behaviour observation, seabird colony monitoring, species identification, research design and presentation.
• Yukon Territory & Alaska: salmon ecology, cetacean behaviour, camera trapping and First Nation perspectives, research design and presentation.

• Certified Marine Mammal Surveyor for MARINELife- Training day 15th Oct 2022
• Dean’s Commendation for Exceptional Performance- University of Exeter (first year)
• Duke of Edinburgh Award: Bronze

• Rock climbing, Travel, Hiking