Main Focus
I am a population ecologist with a special interest in the evolutionary
relationships between social behaviour and demography. I want to understand how
animal breeding systems are shaped by extrinsic social and ecological
environments and by intrinsic phylogenetic constraints. To accomplish this, my
work focuses largely on studying sex-specific variation in mating strategies,
parental care, reproductive success, survival, and movement in wild avian
populations. My
main study system is the shorebirds (suborder Charadrii), whose diverse life histories and extreme tractability
in the field make them ideal organisms to exemplify fundamental principles of
ecology and evolutionary biology. Furthermore, as many shorebird
populations worldwide are in decline and threatened, an important applied
aspect of my research is to understand vital rate variation in light of
population viability and conservation. Through my experiences as a field ornithologist, I understand the limitations
of avian survey methods and the issue of imperfect detection. Therefore, a core
component of my research is modelling population dynamics with mark-recapture
methods. I strive to make my analytical work as transparent as possible
using tools that facilitate collaboration and reproducibility.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2013 – 2017 PhD, Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Germany
Dissertation: “Consequences of individual variation on population dynamics: A behavioural, molecular, and demographic study of Charadrius plovers”. Supervisors: O. Krüger, J. Hoffman and T. Székely
2010 – 2012 MSc, Wildlife Management, Humboldt State University, California, USA
Thesis: “Population viability of snowy plovers in coastal northern California”. Supervisor: M. Colwell
2006 – 2010 BSc, Wildlife Conservation and Ecology, Humboldt State University, California, USA
Professional Experience
2023 – present Postdoctoral Researcher — Department Kempenaers, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (formerly Max Planck Institute for Ornithology), Seewiesen, Germany
2019 – 2023 DFG Postdoctoral Fellow — Research Group Küpper, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
2017 – 2018 Postdoctoral Researcher — Research Group Küpper, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
2013 – 2017 DFG Doctoral Fellow — Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
2012 – 2013 Research Associate — Shorebird Ecology Lab, Humboldt State University, California, USA
2012 – 2013 Research Assistant — Raptor Ecology Lab, Boise State University, Idaho, USA
2012 Field Biologist — US Fish and Wildlife Service, Nome, Alaska, USA
2011 – 2012 Teaching Assistant — Wildlife Department, Humboldt State University, California, USA
2010 Field Biologist — Alaska Bird Observatory, Umiat, Alaska, USA
2009 Field Biologist — Alaska Bird Observatory, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA
2008 Field Biologist — US Forest Service, Lake Tahoe, California, USA