Association of Field Ornithologists

Keith Andringa

PhD Candidate
Texas A&M University
Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology

Keith is a PhD candidate in the Grace Lab at Texas A&M University. His dissertation investigates microplastic consumption in marshbirds and songbirds, and includes determination of best methods for quantifying ingested microplastics, comparisons of ingestion rates across species, and implications of microplastics and mercury contamination for avian health.

B.S. (Wildlife and Fisheries Science) – Texas A&M University

Igor Berkunsky

Investigador/Research Scientist
ECOSISTEMAS, UNCPBA-CONICET
Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable
Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
Paraje Arroyo Seco s/n, Tandil (7000), Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Igor is a research scientist at CONICET and a professor at Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires and Universidad Nacional de La Plata. His research centers on developing conservation tools for threatened bird (and other) species in Southern South America. He is interested in increasing the reproductive output of grassland birds. His questions explore the interface between habitat use, predation ecology, nesting behavior, and breeding biology. He is studying threatened grassland birds, including the Pampas Meadowlark and the Hudson’s Canastero.

B.S. (Biological Sciences, Ecology) – Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Ph.D. (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) – Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Natasza Fontaine

Natasza holds a Master of Science in Biology from Florida State University. Her thesis focused on how avian species richness relates to plant species composition and vegetation structure during non-breeding seasons. After completing her degree, Natasza worked as an avian field biologist in the Southeast and the Southwest and has volunteer experience in South America. Currently, she is a shorebird/seabird biologist for Audubon Florida, based in the Florida Panhandle. She is interested in understanding habitat associations for migratory species, bioacoustics, and bioacoustic monitoring. She is an avid avian recordist and a natural science illustrator. Additionally, she is a visiting biology professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her course, Sound and Color, focuses on exploring the biodiversity of birds and plants through a creative lens.

B.A. (Visual Arts) – Norfolk State University
M.A. (Communications) – New York Institute of Technology
M.S. (Biological Sciences) – Florida State University

Evan Jackson

Raptor specialist
Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and

Adjunct faculty
Division of Natural Sciences
University of Maine at Farmington

Evan works with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, primarily with raptors. He is also adjunct faculty at the University of Maine at Farmington, where he teaches a variety of biology and ecology courses, including Avian Ecology, Introduction to Ecology, and Climate Change in New England.

Currently his research involves assessing the status of state endangered Golden Eagles in Maine and ongoing monitoring and assessment of Peregrine Falcons in the state. He also has been involved with the second Breeding Bird Atlas of Maine. Past research has included the effects of habitat fragmentation on several species of Central American hummingbirds and community response to climate change under differing forest management.

B.S. (Biology: Ecology, Evolution and Behavior) – University of New Hampshire
M.S. (Forest Ecosystems and Society) – Oregon State University

Maria Andreina Pacheco

Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM)
Temple University

Maria is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Biology/Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM) at Temple University. Her academic and professional interests are avian ecophysiology and evolutionary biology and her research has focused on understanding the evolution of haemosporidian parasites and their hosts, especially in birds. She applies phylogenetic and molecular clock methods to understand host switches and the radiation of avian haemosporidian parasite groups. Maria is also interested in phylogenetics and the rate and mode of evolution of the mitochondrial genome in birds and their haemosporidian parasites.