ABO's
Frosty Feathers of the Far North
I am currently the Senior Biologist at the Alaska Bird Observatory in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this job, I oversee and develop projects that ask questions about the birds that live in Alaska. We study their migration, which habitats they inhabit, how they are affected by humans, and even some basic things like how many young they have and where they nest. The coolest part is that after we find out all this stuff, we tell everybody about it.
I have always been very fortunate to be able to work in something having to do with biology. I have taught university courses, performed field and lab research, and have even been involved in science support. I especially enjoy finding out how animals work and then telling people all about it.
What training did you need to become a wildlife researcher?Being a biologist is fun because you take everything you have learned in school (reading, writing, math, chemistry, physics, and biology) and combine it with observing nature to try to figure out the puzzle of how things work. You need to read and write to be able to take good notes on your observations and read what other people have studied before you. You need math to figure out how to design a study that you can repeat and will give you a true representation of what is really happening. You also need to analyze your data. Chemistry, physics, and biology all weave together to give you an idea of how animals work within the bounds of natural laws.
I finished high school and went on to get a Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Washington. I worked for about ten years as a field assistant on various research projects and as a research technician at the University of Washington. Then I decided that I wanted to design my own research that addressed the questions I thought were interesting, so I went to graduate school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The question I was most interested in was how do Black-capped Chickadees survive the winter in Fairbanks. So that is what I studied. I received my PhD in 1997.
Were there any childhood events that influenced your decision to become a biologist?While I was growing up I spent a lot of time being outside and fishing with my Dad. All the plants and animals (even the bugs!) that I saw out there fascinated me. I also enjoyed watching the change of the seasons. In addition, we had many pets while I was growing up and I had fun with them. For a while I was sure I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I decided I wanted to work with wild animals. Ever since I was a little girl, I enjoyed watching animals and wondering why they did what they did.
Was there a particular person or role model that greatly influenced or inspired you?
I have been very fortunate to work with and learn from a number of very good biologists. I would say that I have been influenced by all of them. One person that I have always admired is Jane Goodall. She spent many years learning about chimpanzees in Africa. She wasn’t very successful at first but she kept trying and her persistence was rewarded with all the knowledge she has gathered over the years. She is also a very good writer and speaker. She can tell everyone about her findings in a clear and concise way. Now, people all over the world know about her work and care about the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream.
I have always enjoyed watching birds and listening to their songs in the spring. My first field job was working on a project in eastern Washington looking at Red-winged Blackbirds. After I became accustomed to waking up before the sun came up to be ready for the first songs in the morning, I really enjoyed watching the dynamics of life in a cattail marsh—the males showing off to attract females, the females building a very intricate nest, watching the youngsters grow from an egg to a creature able to fly on its own and then seeing who returns in the spring. It is a little community.
I remember the exact moment I began studying chickadees. I was visiting Fairbanks trying to decide whether UAF was where I wanted to go to graduate school. I had thought I wanted to study Arctic Ground Squirrels. It was a frosty December morning (-30°C to be exact) and I was on my way to town. I stepped outside and had never been so cold in my life (I had been living in Seattle). I walked by a bird feeder on my way to the car. I was amazed to see a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees just going about their business. I thought how in the world do they survive during these cold, dark days? And that question evolved into my graduate project. Ground squirrels didn’t seem nearly as interesting as these feisty little birds.
Do you have a favorite work story or experience to share?I was fortunate enough to work on a project studying a bird called the Bay Wren in the jungles of Panama. This bird is interesting because the male and female sing together in a duet. Their song is so coordinated that it sounds like one bird singing. We were interested in when they started singing, so we needed to be on their territory at the start of the dawn chorus. This meant walking down small rivers in the jungle in the dark. The rivers weren’t very deep but you never knew what you might run into. But it was well worth the effort when you were standing in the jungle as the sun started to rise and all the birds started to sing. You were surrounded by bird song and sometimes even a few howler monkeys joined in. As the sun rose, it became louder and louder and then after about 15 minutes they would stop. It was quite the way to start the day.
What advice do you have for a student who might be interested in pursuing your occupation someday?
Pay attention to what is going on around you. Alaska is an amazing place and its plants and animals are fine-tuned to survive in a relatively harsh environment. And it is all happening right outside your door. In addition, read, read, read. You can expand your knowledge of other places, other animals, and other ecosystems without leaving your living room. Although these areas and animals may seem very different, there are common threads throughout the world.
