As a behavioural ecologist, Dr Stanley’s research focuses on the social experiences of animals. From bats to horses, individuals’ social environments, in terms of the social network in which they are embedded, can have significant positive and negative impacts on their lives. Dr Stanley’s research has practical applications to conservation and the quantification of animal welfare; for example, a long-term project working with the critically endangered Livingstone’s fruit bat has significantly improved our ability to manage captive breeding populations of this and other fruit bat species. Dr Stanley is currently leading a Leverhulme Trust funded project that will improve our ability to mitigate against anthropogenic impacts on lesser horseshoe bats, assessing welfare in wild populations and developing exciting new technology for monitoring small-bodied bats. She is also part of a team currently working to improve young people's connectedness with nature at night.