Akiko studies the ecology, behaviour and physiology of seabirds, mainly penguins, focusing on their adaptation to the changing marine environment and their role in the marine ecosystem using bio-logging. She is managing the long-term monitoring programs on Adelie and little penguins.

For several years, I have been studying breeding strategies of penguins. Currently, I am studying their distribution, habitat preferences and behavior at sea during their migration period. The main objective of my work is to contribute to the preservation of these species and their habitat, the ocean, particularly in the face of anthropogenic threats and climate change.

Throughout my career I have been interested in how advancing technologies such as tracking, remote sensing and molecular ecology are revealing individual differences in seabird behaviour, and the implications for this at a population level, particularly in conservation management terms. In my day to day role, I provide specialist scientific advice and technical guidance on marine birds to to the Scottish Government, particularly in relation to the assessment of environmental impacts of marine renewable developments.

I'm currently a masters student at SJSU studying the fine scale foraging movements of pigeon guillemots in southeast Farallon island. I'm deploying short term gps units on chick provisioning adults to better understand foraging behavior. Along with GPS data I'm also conducting diet watches to identify prey items delivered by tagged adults.

I currently lead the Seabird Oceanography Lab at Oregon State University. We tackle a range of applied seabird research to provide managers information on seabird populations and behavior. We are also developing methods to sample oceanographic parameters from seabird biologging data - concurrent with the collection of detailed individual movement and diving behavior data. I am interested in how individual marine animals interact with their environment through movement: from fine-scale behavior to migrations. I began my career during a field season on the Barren Islands in Alaska. Since then, I have gravitated toward remote, wild, and windy places.

My research on seabirds focuses on the anthropogenic impacts that affect them, and their use as bioindicators for marine pollution. Specifically, my area of expertise centers on plastic contamination, where I employ non-invasive methods to study birds that have died from the detrimental effects of light pollution. Thus, over the last few years, my work has not been in the field but mainly in the laboratory. After more than 1,200 necropsied birds, I can say that it is still not pleasant to open a dead animal, but the significance of this research sustains my dedication.

My research aims to discover how avian movement patterns can inform conservation decision-making analyses. For my doctoral research, I'm investigating the migratory connectivity of two heavily harvested sea duck species (Long-tailed Ducks and Surf Scoters) to inform harvest regulations. To do so, I'm measuring the stable isotope ratios in their feathers. Stable isotope ratios in feathers can reveal the molting grounds of a birds sampled on its wintering grounds; thereby connecting an individual's wintering location with its breeding location. My goal is to conduct research that will have direct implications for the protection of these conservation-reliant seabirds.

My work focuses on breeding populations of Harlequin Ducks (HADU) in Montana and Idaho. Long-term monitoring of breeding HADU in the region has documented population declines leading to concerns about population status in the region. Previous methods have primarily relied on direct, in-person observations and are highly variable owed to factors outside the observer's control. Thus, I am comparing detection probabilities of non-invasive survey methods to determine their efficacy in detecting HADU on streams. I am also working on building a predictive occupancy model of breeding HADU in the region to help non-game biologists update their current HADU monitoring program.

I recently finished my master's work on studying the foraging habitat for Threatened Steller's eiders at a historically important molting location, Izembek Lagoon, Alaska. I have assisted on various sea duck projects across the state of Alaska.

I conduct applied research and conservation with seabird species across the Pacific to design and implement conservation solutions to protect their breeding habitat. My goal is to test the efficacy of conservation interventions in improving demographic parameters and various life history charactertistics.

For my PhD, I'm studying different aspects of partnership in a long-lived seabird, the thick-billed murre. I'm looking at how movement, behaviour, genetics of breeding partners influences reproductive success. I'm also the crew lead of the Coats Island research station.

I started working with seabirds for my Masters on post-fledging parental care in roseate terns with Ian Nisbet and Jeremy Hatch. I then did a PhD on ectoparasites in crested terns in Australia. I landed a university position in 2016 at an inland university in Australia, so I stopped doing seabird research for a while, but have recently left the university and am now back working with seabirds as a consultant!