Credentials:
Ph.D. Ocean Science, University of California Santa Cruz, 2014
B.S. Biological Sciences, Cornell University, 2002
Research/Career Interests:
Animal movement, migration, foraging ecology, species–habitat relationships, food web dynamics, biologging, marine spatial planning, seabird-fisheries interactions
Rachael is a marine ecologist with a background in oceanography and field ecology. She is interested in how individual marine animals interact with their environment through movement: from fine-scale flight behavior to migrations. Rachael’s research combines biologging technology and field techniques to link movements to intrinsic individual characteristics, such as body condition, breeding success, and physiology to provide context for how marine animals interact with their environment. Recently, her work has taken her to Alaska, the northwest Hawaiian Islands, and the Falkland Islands.
Rachael leads the Seabird Oceanography Lab and is an active collaborator with the GEMM Lab.
Current Research Topics:
Professional Affiliations:
Pacific Seabird Group Regional Representative for Oregon & Washington (2019-2021)
Professional Preparation:
10+ years of experience working with seabirds and pinnipeds in Alaska, Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, Greenland, Hawaii and the New Zealand Sub Antarctic
Ph.D. research focused on the winter foraging ecology of thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes, and red-legged kittiwakes nesting on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea