Colleen Handel, Ph.D.
Population ecology of passerines and shorebirds, behavioral ecology, population monitoring, and sampling design.
Professional Experience
1996 - Present Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1993 - 1996 Research Wildlife Biologist, NBS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1978 - 1993 Research Wildlife Biologist, USFWS, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1977 - 1978 Research/ Teaching Assistant, University of California Davis, Davis, California
1975 - 1978 Biological Science Technician, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska
1975 - 1975 Biological Science Aide, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Kenai, Alaska
1974 - 1974 Botany and Ornithology Instructor, Murray Rhode School, Newton Public High Schools, Newton, Massachusetts
1972 - 1972 Assistant Curator, Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1972 - 1972 Research Assistant, Concord Field Station, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2002 University of California Davis, Davis, CA Ecology
M.S. 1982 University of California Davis, Davis, CA Ecology
B.A. 1974 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Biological Sciences
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Ornithological Society (Fellow, Deputy Editor)
Association of Field Ornithologists
Colonial Waterbird Group
Ecological Society of America
Pacific Seabird Group
Society for Conservation Biology
Wader Study Group
Wildlife Society
Wilson Ornithological Society
Science and Products
Small population size of Pribilof Rock Sandpipers confirmed through distance-sampling surveys in Alaska
Microanatomy of passerine hard-cornified tissues: Beak and claw structure of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Paired serologic and polymerase chain reaction analyses of avian influenza prevalence in Alaskan shorebirds
Stable isotopes identify dietary changes associated with beak deformities in Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus)
Coelomic implantation of satellite transmitters in the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) and the bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) using propofol, bupivacaine, and lidocaine
Geographic variation in morphology of Alaska-breeding Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) is not maintained on their nonbreeding grounds in New Zealand
A natural experiment on the condition-dependence of achromatic plumage reflectance in black-capped chickadees
Wayward youth: Trans-Beringian movement and differential southward migration by juvenile sharp-tailed sandpipers
Beak deformities in Northwestern Crows: Evidence of a multispecies epizootic
Epizootic of beak deformities among wild birds in Alaska: An emerging disease in North America?
Extreme endurance flights by landbirds crossing the Pacific Ocean: Ecological corridor rather than barrier?
Estimation of avian population sizes and species richness across a boreal landscape in Alaska
Science and Products
Small population size of Pribilof Rock Sandpipers confirmed through distance-sampling surveys in Alaska
Microanatomy of passerine hard-cornified tissues: Beak and claw structure of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Paired serologic and polymerase chain reaction analyses of avian influenza prevalence in Alaskan shorebirds
Stable isotopes identify dietary changes associated with beak deformities in Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus)
Coelomic implantation of satellite transmitters in the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) and the bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) using propofol, bupivacaine, and lidocaine
Geographic variation in morphology of Alaska-breeding Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) is not maintained on their nonbreeding grounds in New Zealand
A natural experiment on the condition-dependence of achromatic plumage reflectance in black-capped chickadees
Wayward youth: Trans-Beringian movement and differential southward migration by juvenile sharp-tailed sandpipers
Beak deformities in Northwestern Crows: Evidence of a multispecies epizootic
Epizootic of beak deformities among wild birds in Alaska: An emerging disease in North America?
Extreme endurance flights by landbirds crossing the Pacific Ocean: Ecological corridor rather than barrier?
Estimation of avian population sizes and species richness across a boreal landscape in Alaska
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government