Sperm Whales Headbutting: St Andrews Study First Footage
University of St Andrews researchers capture first footage of sperm whales headbutting, confirming historical accounts and unveiling insights into their social aggression and anatomy.
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Alec Burslem serves as a Research Fellow at the Sea Mammal Research Unit in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews. He earned his PhD from the University of St Andrews in 2024. His doctoral thesis is titled The role of lipid-store body condition in the behaviour and conservation of sperm whales. Burslem's research centers on behaviour-physiology interactions in marine mammals and their implications for ecology and conservation biology. While at the University of St Andrews, he conducted studies on sperm whales and killer whales, including work on the role of lipid stores in their behaviour. He has contributed to research documenting headbutting behavior between sperm whales using unoccupied aerial vehicles, with findings published in 2026. Additional work includes estimating total body lipid stores of free-ranging whales in vivo through drone photogrammetry and biologging tags, published in 2025. Burslem has collaborated with researchers from institutions such as the University of the Azores. His professional experience at St Andrews builds on prior academic training, including studies at the University of York. He maintains an active research profile focused on marine top predators.
Burslem's appointments include his role as Research Fellow at the Sea Mammal Research Unit. Key outputs from his time at the institution encompass peer-reviewed papers on cetacean physiology and behaviour. No major awards, fellowships, or editorial roles are documented in official university or academic profiles. His influence lies in advancing understanding of marine mammal energetics and conservation through empirical field studies. Public lectures or committee contributions are not specified in available sources. Burslem has since transitioned to a postdoctoral position at the Marine Mammal Research Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his work continues on humpback whale behaviour and energetics, extending themes developed during his St Andrews tenure.
University of St Andrews researchers capture first footage of sperm whales headbutting, confirming historical accounts and unveiling insights into their social aggression and anatomy.
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