WOMEN IN SEABIRD SCIENCE
Danni Thompson
she/her
PhD Student
University
of Aberdeen
Discipline
Behaviour, Conservation, Migration & Movement Ecology
Regional Focus
Scotland, UK; Falkland Islands
Years Active
6-10 years
Species Focus
Auks (Alcidae), Gulls and Terns (Laridae), Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), Skuas and Jaegers (Stercorariidae)
Tell us about your work with seabirds.
I first fell in love with seabirds whilst working on a remote Scottish island surrounded by internationally important colonies. Since then, I've worked in seabird monitoring, training citizen scientists to survey seabirds at sea, and assessing the impacts of offshore industries on seabird populations. My current research is looking at individual foraging behaviour specialisation in Falkland Island shags, using a mixture of biologging, stable isotope analysis and dietary metabarcoding.
What advice would you offer to individuals aspiring to pursue a career as seabird scientists?
Seek out and always be open to opportunities that might help you get to where you want to be. This also helps with networking, which is another essential; you never know who could be on that hiring board or seeking out their next field assistant/collaborator. Know your local birds - you don't have to be an expert in all things but knowing ID and basic ecology is a must.
Danni wearing a teal jacket and knitted hat sitting on a grassy bank above a gravelly beach covered in king penguins in the Falkland Islands.
Email:
Website:
Twitter:
@scottishseabird
Instagram:
@danni_thompson_photography