Dr Dominic Rollinson

Dom graduated with a PhD from the FitzPatrick Institute in 2017. His research (supervised by Peter Ryan and Ross Wanless) investigated and mitigated seabird bycatch from the pelagic longline fishery off South Africa. Dom spent many months onboard longline vessels for his research and sea trials which resulted in one of the major foreign fleets adopting a proven line-weighting technique.

Dom has been interested in birds and birding from an early age and since leaving the Fitz has been working as bird guide for Birding Ecotours, a worldwide bird tour company. He is a co-author on one of southern Africa’s most popular bird field guides, Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, and has authored several of popular articles.

Recent peer-reviewed, popular and book publications: 

Rollinson, D.P. 2023. Cetacean sightings from Mozambican waters, including the first records of Rough-toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis and Fraser’s Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei. Biodiversity Observations 13:154-161.

Clarke, B. et al. (Rollinson, D.P.) 2023. Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds. Nature Communications, 14: 3665.

Sinclair, I., Hockey, P., Tarbotan, W., Perrins, N., Rollinson, D. and Ryan P. 2020. Fifth Edition Sasol Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Nature.

Rollinson, D.P., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D. and Ryan, P.G. 2018. Year-round movements of white-chinned petrels from Marion Island, south-western Indian Ocean. Antarctic Science, 30: 183-195.

Rollinson, D.P., Wanless, R.M. and Ryan, P.G. 2017. Patterns and trends in seabird bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery off South Africa. African Journal of Marine Science, 39: 9-25.

Rollinson, D.P., Cardwell, P., De Blocq, A. and Nicolau, J.R. 2017. Out-of-range sighting of a South Georgian Diving Petrel Pelecanoides georgicus in the southeast Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ornithology 45: 21-22.

Rollinson, D.P., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D. and Ryan, P.G. 2016. Diving behaviour of Grey Petrels and its relevance for mitigating long-line by-catch. Emu – Austral Ornithology, 116: 340-349.

Rollinson, D.P. and Rollinson, P.L. 2016. Snowy Egret Egretta thula in Cape Town, South Africa; second record for continental Africa. African Bird Club Bulletin, 23: 219-222.

Rollinson, D.P. 2016. Sightings at sea: Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea off Durban, South Africa. Biodiversity Observations 7.18, 1-2.

Rollinson, D.P. and Rollinson, P.L. 2016. Observations of the courtship display of a White-Backed Night Heron from South Africa. Biodiversity Observations 7.53, 1.

Rollinson, D.P. 2016. At-sea sightings of banded Tristan Albatrosses off the Western Cape and a review of records in southern African waters. Biodiversity Observations 7.66, 1-4.

Rollinson, D.P. 2016. Rare seabird sightings from a pelagic longline vessel off South Africa, July-September 2013. African Bird Club Bulletin, 23: 164-175.

Rollinson, D.P. and Rollinson, P.L. 2015. Year-round sightings of Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle in southern Zululand, South Africa (2004-2015). Gabar, 26: 1-3.

Whitehead, T.O. Rollinson, D.P. and Reisinger, R.R. 2015 Pseudostalked barnacles Xenobalanus globicipitis attached to killer whales Orcinus orca in South African waters. Marine Biodiversity, 45: 873-876.

Rollinson, D.P. 2018. Seabird sightings off southern and central Mozambique, August–October 2015. African Bird Club Bulletin, 25: 193-204.

Rollinson, D.P. 2015. Rare seabird sightings off north and west Madagascar, January-February 2014. African Bird Club Bulletin, 22: 204-208.

Rollinson, D.P., Dilley, B.J. and Ryan, P.G. 2014. Diving behaviour of white-chinned petrels and its relevance for mitigating longline bycatch. Polar Biology, 37: 1301-1308.

Rollinson, D.P., Coleman, J.C. and Downs, C.T. 2014. Roost temperature and fidelity of Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat Epomophorus wahlbergi, in an urban environment. African Zoology, 49: 283-289.

Rollinson, D.P., Coleman, J.C. and Downs, C.T. 2013. Seasonal differences in foraging dynamics, habitat use and home range size of Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat in an urban environment. African Zoology, 48: 340-350.

Rollinson, D.P., Reynolds, C. and Paijmans, D.M. 2013. Vagrant Northern Rockhopper Penguin at Soetwater Beach, Western Cape. Biodiversity Observations, 4: 36-38.