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
Mate fidelity and breeding site tenacity in a monogamous sandpiper, the black turnstone
Boreal partners in flight: Working together to build a regional research and monitoring program
Nesting ecology of Townsend's warblers in relation to habitat characteristics in a mature boreal forest
The relative importance of nesting and foraging sites in selection of breeding territories by Townsend's Warblers
Migration, fidelity, and use of autumn staging grounds in Alaska by Cackling Canada Geese Branta canadensis minima
Brood amalgamation in the Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis: process and function
Western North American shorebirds
Conservation of North Pacific shorebirds
Roosting behavior of premigratory Dunlins (Calidris alpina)
Breeding distribution of the Black Turnstone
Observations on habitat use, breeding chronology and parental care in Bristle-thighed Curlews on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
The importance of subarctic intertidal habitats to shorebirds: A study of the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Science and Products
Mate fidelity and breeding site tenacity in a monogamous sandpiper, the black turnstone
Boreal partners in flight: Working together to build a regional research and monitoring program
Nesting ecology of Townsend's warblers in relation to habitat characteristics in a mature boreal forest
The relative importance of nesting and foraging sites in selection of breeding territories by Townsend's Warblers
Migration, fidelity, and use of autumn staging grounds in Alaska by Cackling Canada Geese Branta canadensis minima
Brood amalgamation in the Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis: process and function
Western North American shorebirds
Conservation of North Pacific shorebirds
Roosting behavior of premigratory Dunlins (Calidris alpina)
Breeding distribution of the Black Turnstone
Observations on habitat use, breeding chronology and parental care in Bristle-thighed Curlews on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
The importance of subarctic intertidal habitats to shorebirds: A study of the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 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