麻豆社

Mark Dion is an artist making work that apprriates archaeological, field ecology and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects to creates works that question the distinctions between 鈥榦bjective鈥� or 鈥榬ational鈥� scientific methods and 鈥榮ubjective鈥� or 鈥榠rrational鈥� influences.

He frequently collaborates with museums of natural history, aquariums, zoos and other institutions mandated to produce public knowledge on the topic of nature. He was commissioned to make a piece for the Folkestone Triennial and on arriving there said:聽鈥淕ulls are the most conspicuous non-human denizens of Folkestone鈥� and decided to make The Mobile Gull Appreciation Unit, which would be an artwork that functioned as a clearing house for information about the evolution, ethnology, natural history, environmental status and folklore of the often under-appreciated gulls.

Dominic Mitchell is managing editor of the 's Birdwatch magazine.

His books include ; ; ; Birds of Britain: the complete checklist. He writes a regular blog, .

is Head of Psychology at the University of the West of England聽(UWE Bristol). He led a project studying the interaction between humans and urban gulls in Bath and North East Somerset in a collaboration between UWE and Middlesex University.

Postgraduate student 聽and the team monitored gulls to gather information about nesting sites, feeding behaviours and the human response to the gulls in an 18-month study.

Peter Rock has been studying Bristol's roof-nesting gulls since 1980 and throughout this time has been involved in international gull research at a high level. For the last 15 years he has been the co-ordinator for the colour-marking of the large gulls for all of the Bird Ringing Schemes in Europe.

He is the author of several papers on the subject (including the Lesser Black-backed Gull pages in the Migration Atlas) and has acted as consultant to various authorities on roof-nesting gulls

Viola Ross-Smith is science communications manager at the British Trust for Ornithology. She has a strong interest in seabirds, their behaviour, ecology and life history adaptations.

She worked as a Research Ecologist in the BTO's Wetland and Marine Team before being appointed to her current position. Aside from ornithology and communications, Viola is interested in policy, having worked in this field for the European Institutions in Brussels and the RSPB.