UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
June 2009 - July 2009

Field assistant for black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and Kittlitz’s murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) project in Prince William Sound, Alaska. 

I captured and banded kittiwakes at the Shoup Bay breeding colony as part of a long-term population study. Retrieved geo-locators used to map over-wintering sites, and assisted with blood sampling from brachial vein. I also assisted with conducting systematic boat transect surveys for Kittlitz’s murrelets in Harriman Fjord to determine relationship of murrelets to glacier terminus and underwater moraines. Tracked radio-tagged murrelets and downloaded telemetry data from permanent tracking stations.

Experience includes: field capture techniques, zodiac boat use, camped at remote wilderness field sites