Students

Sonya Pastran ANMU
Here, MSc Sonya Pastram digs deep to find an Ancient Murrelet in a burrow.

PSG provides many opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students studying seabirds and seabird conservation! As an PSG Student Member, you can:

If you have not previously been a PSG member, you may also be eligible to apply for a 1-2 year sponsored membership via PSG HELPS. PSG is a society of professional seabird researchers and managers dedicated to the study and conservation of seabirds—join us today!

Stay in the loop! The Pacific Seabird Group maintains an email list for information exchange about Pacific seabirds. The email list is open to everyone, but does require adherence to PSG’s Code of Conduct. To join the email list, click here.

Ready to dive in? Contact the Communications Committee to learn more: communications@pacificseabirdgroup.org.

It is very important and useful for undergraduate students to get practical experience doing seabird research and conservation.  Gaining hands-on experiences is a great way to learn specific skills, help get a feel for the day-to-day work of seabird biologists, and establish contacts for future jobs.

During the school year or over summer breaks:

Click here for additional resources from eBird and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology!

Additional Resources: click here for other resources about seabird-focused publications and professional societies curated by the World Seabird Union.

Seabird Research Labs

Are you a student looking for research opportunities and experience related to seabird biology, ecology, and conservation? The Pacific Seabird Group is here to help! PSG is committed to helping Students and Early Career Scientists find opportunities in academia and further seabird research and conservation. Whether you are an undergraduate student or a postdoc, or looking to jump back into academia, our list of seabird labs can help with your search for research opportunities. Click here to check out our database!

Applying to Graduate School

General Resources for Graduate Students

Additional Resources: click here for other resources about seabird-focused publications and professional societies curated by the World Seabird Union.

See the links below for Job Boards that advertise positions related to seabirds, conservation, and ocean studies. The PSG listserv and PSG Job Board are also a good source for job and internship opportunities.

Additional Resources:

Resources to help ensure safe, inclusive conditions in the field and in the lab:

Select resources documenting harassment and discrimination in the field and in the lab:

Addressing harassment, discrimination, and other negative and/or hurtful interactions:

  • When taking on a new job, know what policies, processes, and protections are in place regarding sexual harassment, discrimination, unsafe working conditions, bullying, and/or other hurtful/negative interactions. Get copies of these materials; these are just as important as a copy of your contract, so hold on to these and make sure that you have them handy. Request that your supervisor goes specifically over information related to Human Resources (HR) and what resources and services are available.
  • If someone harasses you, you must respond. Although difficult, be strong and commit these lines to memory: “Do not talk to me like that; your language is inappropriate” and “Do not touch me; your touch is unwanted.” In the case of an investigation or other inquiry pursuant to harassment, you will be asked if you made it known to the perpetrator that you were not comfortable or that the perpetrator knew that what they did was inappropriate.
  • When harassment occurs, document it. Document everything. In the event that an investigation arises in association with a sexual harassment claim, you will absolutely need evidence. If something happens, write it down immediately. Jot it down in an email to yourself and note the date, time, exact quotes (if possible), and the names of any other people that were present during the incident (you might need to contact them in the future to corroborate your own claim). Or, if you receive an email, text, phone voicemail, or other communication from the perpetrator, keep it. Moreover, if you have repeat incidents of sexual harassment (e.g., a colleague continually makes inappropriate, sexual comments to you) from a specific person, record these conversations and comments.
  • Report your claims and follow-up with the appropriate chain-of-command. Stick with it. Find the courage and bravery within yourself to face these uncomfortable situations. Demand what is yours: closure, safety, justice. You name it. It’s yours—claim it. For more information, click here.

For additional resources, consult The Fieldwork Initiative and In the Field from ADVANCEGeo.

***If you are facing any form of trauma, violence, or simply don’t feel safe while in the field or anywhere else, get yourself to a safe place as soon as possible. If that is not possible, complete this form via The Fieldwork Initiative so they can help you. 

PSG Student Member Highlights

Lindsay Lalach,
Simon Fraser University

I’m a Master’s student at Simon Fraser University studying the winter movement foraging ecology of Brandt’s Cormorants, a pelagic seabird found along the Pacific coast of North America. My research combines animal movement modelling with high-resolution oceanographic data to better understand how these birds use their marine environment during the non-breeding season. Using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), I analyze GPS and dive data collected from tagged individuals to infer behavioural states like resting, foraging and transit. This work takes place in the Salish Sea, a dynamic and ecologically rich marine ecosystem. Ultimately, my goal is to identify key foraging habitats and better understand how environmental conditions influence seabird behaviour in winter.

Yun-Xuan Lin,
Taiwan & Midway Atoll

I’m currently studying the personalities of black-footed and Laysan albatrosses. My focus is on examining their boldness to determine whether bold and shy individuals exhibit different foraging strategies and distribution patterns. Additionally, I plan to use citizen science data to map the distribution of short-tailed albatrosses near Taiwan.

Photo credit: A perfect spot for a photograph on Midway, thanks for Lisa and Calvin!












Ariel Heswall

Ariel-Micaiah Heswall,
University of Auckland

For my Honour’s work and carrying on with my PhD, I study seabird sensory ecology. I explore sensory traps and threats to seabirds including bycatch, lights, and plastics from their own sensory perspective. I tend to work with a broad range of seabirds, generally with Procellariformes. I conduct my fieldwork in New Zealand on remote islands in the Hauraki Gulf including the pest free island of Te-Hauturu-O-Toi, Tirititiri Matangi, Burgess Island, and other coast peninsulas where the seabirds breed. I also conduct some research at the Museum where I analyze the morphology and sensory anatomy of the seabirds. This photo is an image of me taken by Brian Wijaya when we were conducting some light attraction experiments on Tiritiri Matangi, where I was holding Common Diving Petrel chick from a nest box.


Do you want to be PSG’s next featured Student Member? Or would you like to nominate someone? Fill out the form here!