WOMEN IN SEABIRD SCIENCE
Elizabeth Bell
she/her
Ecologist
Wildlife Management
International Ltd.
Discipline
Behaviour, Conservation, Population Dynamics, Project Management, Public/Community Engagement, Reproductive Biology & Life History, Migration & Movement Ecology
Regional Focus
Multiple locations throughout NZ including Hirakimata/Mt Hobson, Aotea/Great Barrier Island; Long Island, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough; Ohinau Island, Whitianga; Lady Alice Island, Hauraki Gulf; Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough; Molesworth, North Canterbury
Years Active
More than 20 years
Species Focus
Gulls and Terns (Laridae), Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae), Penguins (Spheniscidae)
Tell us about your work with seabirds.
Long-term research programmes on New Zealand seabirds monitoring population trends, breeding success, survival and recruitment at colonies through the intensive monitoring of study burrows and night capture of seabirds on the surface. Banding all adults and surviving chicks handled during the work, and undertaking a range of tracking studies to understand foraging and migration patterns at sea as well as determine at-sea risks including climate change, fishing and pollution events.
What advice would you offer to individuals aspiring to pursue a career as seabird scientists?
Get out there and have fun! Involve yourself as much as possible in ongoing projects and learn from those around you. See what is happening in your neighbourhood and don't be afraid to offer your help.
Biz holding a t_koketai/black petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni) at the Hirakimata/Mt Hobson colony on Aotea/Great Barrier Island as part of the long-term monitoring project that has been ongoing since 1995. Annual breeding success, survival and recruitment, and population trends are all part of data collected through this monitoring project.
Email:
Website:
Twitter:
@blackpetrelbiz
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