WOMEN IN SEABIRD SCIENCE
Abigail Muscat
she/her
MS Student
University of Manitoba
Discipline
Behaviour, Community Ecology, Conservation, Population Dynamics, Migration & Movement Ecology
Regional Focus
Northwest Atlantic
Years Active
0-2 years
Species Focus
Auks (Alcidae), Sea ducks and allies (Anatidae)
Tell us about your work with seabirds.
I started working with birds for my undergraduate Honors thesis at the University of Maine, studying the utility of umbrella species conservation methods based on two species of conservation concern (Purple Sandpiper and Harlequin Duck). My passion for seabird ecology grew as a research assistant for Project Puffin in the Gulf of Maine and now I am a MS student in the Davoren Lab (Dr. Gail Davoren), determining location-specific daily energy expenditure of Razorbills throughout the annual cycle in the northwestern Atlantic using various types of data loggers, including Global Location Sensing (GLS) and/or Time Depth Recorder (TDR) tags.
What advice would you offer to individuals aspiring to pursue a career as seabird scientists?
Explore opportunities to get out in the field early on! Being able to see seabirds up close in their natural environment has been the most rewarding experience, and it can help you figure out what types of questions and species interest you the most. Volunteering at a local bird banding facility is also a great way to get experience. Learning a coding language, such as R or Python will be incredibly useful to you as well!
Abigail wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt and a blue baseball hat covered in bird poop with an orange pointed popsicle stick attached to the back of the hat. She is standing on an island in the Gulf of Maine, holding a Common Tern chick post-banding with a red mark on its head for identification from blinds. The ocean and grass are in the background. Abigail was working with Project Puffin as a research assistant when this photo was taken. Photo credit: Juliana Ramirez.
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@abigail_puffin