Black-capped Chickadee with a long down-curved elongated top beak. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
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
Meeting and Project Summaries for Boreal Partners in Flight
Landbird Research in Alaska
Boreal Partners in Flight
About Boreal Partners in Flight
Monitoring and Research Boreal Partners in Flight Projects
Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey
Conservation of Landbirds in Alaska
Bird Conservation Areas
Festivals Celebrating Birds in Alaska
Alaska Raptor Group
Resources and Links for Boreal Partners in Flight
There is enormous value in learning about our natural world. Educational resources help us with this endeavor and help us teach others about landbirds. Note: This list is for your convenience. We are not advertising or endorsing any product or entity listed.
Background of Beak Deformity Research
Geospatial Sampling Information for the Inventory of Montane-nesting Birds in the Arctic Network of National Parks, Alaska, 2001-2003
USGS Alaska Science Center Adult Shorebird Morphological Measurement Data
Avian Point Transect Survey Data, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012
Avian Habitat Data; Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012
Juvenile Shorebird Morphological Data Collected in Alaska and Canada
Arthropod Abundance and Shrub Cover and Height on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2015-2016
Data Associated with Poecivirus Testing of Individual Birds with Beak Deformities
Nesting Habitat and Nest Survival Data for American (Pluvialis dominica) and Pacific (P. fulva) Golden-Plovers on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012-2013
Measurements Used to Determine the Sex of Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis)
Genetic data associated with avian keratin disorder and Poecivirus in black-capped chickadees, Alaska, 2016-2017
Data for Montane-breeding Bird Distribution and Abundance across National Parks of Southwestern Alaska, 2004-2008
Audio Data for Assessing Avian Detectability, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2013-2014
Black-capped Chickadee with a long down-curved elongated top beak. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Black-capped Chickadee with upper long, curved down beak and crossed. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Black-capped Chickadee with upper long, curved down beak and crossed. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Structure of breeding calls in three closely related bird species (Calidris Merrem, 1804; Scolopacidae)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI): An emerging disease threat in North America
The Pacific as the world’s greatest theater of bird migration: Extreme flights spark questions about physiological capabilities, behavior, and the evolution of migratory pathways
Alaska Landbird Conservation Plan
Alaska landbird montoring survey: Alaska regional protocol framework for monitoring landbirds using point counts
Willow drives changes in arthropod communities of northwestern Alaska: Ecological implications of shrub expansion
Poecivirus is present in individuals with beak deformities in seven species of North American birds
Does habitat partitioning by sympatric plovers affect nest survival?
Through thick and thin: Sexing Bristle-thighed Curlews Numenius tahitiensis using measures of bill depth
Monitoring boreal avian populations: How can we estimate trends and trajectories from noisy data?
Prevalence and diversity of avian blood parasites in a resident northern passerine
Evidence of Culiseta mosquitoes as vectors for Plasmodium parasites in Alaska
Science and Products
Meeting and Project Summaries for Boreal Partners in Flight
Landbird Research in Alaska
Boreal Partners in Flight
About Boreal Partners in Flight
Monitoring and Research Boreal Partners in Flight Projects
Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey
Conservation of Landbirds in Alaska
Bird Conservation Areas
Festivals Celebrating Birds in Alaska
Alaska Raptor Group
Resources and Links for Boreal Partners in Flight
There is enormous value in learning about our natural world. Educational resources help us with this endeavor and help us teach others about landbirds. Note: This list is for your convenience. We are not advertising or endorsing any product or entity listed.
Background of Beak Deformity Research
Geospatial Sampling Information for the Inventory of Montane-nesting Birds in the Arctic Network of National Parks, Alaska, 2001-2003
USGS Alaska Science Center Adult Shorebird Morphological Measurement Data
Avian Point Transect Survey Data, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012
Avian Habitat Data; Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012
Juvenile Shorebird Morphological Data Collected in Alaska and Canada
Arthropod Abundance and Shrub Cover and Height on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2015-2016
Data Associated with Poecivirus Testing of Individual Birds with Beak Deformities
Nesting Habitat and Nest Survival Data for American (Pluvialis dominica) and Pacific (P. fulva) Golden-Plovers on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012-2013
Measurements Used to Determine the Sex of Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis)
Genetic data associated with avian keratin disorder and Poecivirus in black-capped chickadees, Alaska, 2016-2017
Data for Montane-breeding Bird Distribution and Abundance across National Parks of Southwestern Alaska, 2004-2008
Audio Data for Assessing Avian Detectability, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2013-2014
Black-capped Chickadee with a long down-curved elongated top beak. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Black-capped Chickadee with a long down-curved elongated top beak. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Black-capped Chickadee with upper long, curved down beak and crossed. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Black-capped Chickadee with upper long, curved down beak and crossed. Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is a disease characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth and other abnormalities of keratinized tissues. Affected birds have difficulty feeding and preening and may suffer high rates of mortality.
Structure of breeding calls in three closely related bird species (Calidris Merrem, 1804; Scolopacidae)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI): An emerging disease threat in North America
The Pacific as the world’s greatest theater of bird migration: Extreme flights spark questions about physiological capabilities, behavior, and the evolution of migratory pathways
Alaska Landbird Conservation Plan
Alaska landbird montoring survey: Alaska regional protocol framework for monitoring landbirds using point counts
Willow drives changes in arthropod communities of northwestern Alaska: Ecological implications of shrub expansion
Poecivirus is present in individuals with beak deformities in seven species of North American birds
Does habitat partitioning by sympatric plovers affect nest survival?
Through thick and thin: Sexing Bristle-thighed Curlews Numenius tahitiensis using measures of bill depth
Monitoring boreal avian populations: How can we estimate trends and trajectories from noisy data?
Prevalence and diversity of avian blood parasites in a resident northern passerine
Evidence of Culiseta mosquitoes as vectors for Plasmodium parasites 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