WOMEN IN SEABIRD SCIENCE
Leilani Fowlke
she/her
PhD Student in Dr. Jones Evidence-based Restoration Lab
Northern Illinois
University
Discipline
Community Ecology, Conservation, Reproductive Biology & Life History
Regional Focus
Tropical Pacific
Years Active
6-10 years
Species Focus
Albatrosses (Diomedeidae), Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae), Storm-Petrels (Hydrobatidae & Oceanitidae)
Tell us about your work with seabirds.
I am a chick-rearing, restoration and translocation specialist with a focus on procellariiformes . From 2016-2022 I worked with Pacific Rim Conservation as their Animal Care Coordinator and a co-lead in rearing and releasing the translocated Black-footed Albatross, Bonin Petrel, Hawaiian Petrel, Tristram's Storm-petrel and Newell's Shearwater chicks. I am now conducting my PhD in Dr. Holly Jones Evidence-based Restoration Lab to document the reproductive life-history of the Phoenix Petrel and Polynesian Storm-petrel followed by a trial in-situ translocation for both species and a comparative analysis of reproductive life-history characteristics between procellariiform species.
What advice would you offer to individuals aspiring to pursue a career as seabird scientists?
If you live in an area that conducts seabird research, conservation or restoration, I would get involved with those practitioners as soon as possible in any capacity. If you don't live close to actively participate with these groups, I would read and learn as much as I could about the species you are interested in. I would also see if there is any way for you to be involved in seabird work remotely (ex. educational outreach, social media outreach, creating graphics to illustrate seabird threats or conservation actions, etc.)
Leilani Fowlke wearing a black t-shirt and grey hat holding a Bonin Petrel chick with a seabird colony and ocean in the background. Leilani weighed, measured and translocated this chick after this photo was taken.
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Lei_underwater