Gemma Clucas
Research Associate
I’m a Research Associate and leader of the Seabird Conservation Analytics Team (SCAT) at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We’re using techniques such as fecal DNA metabarcoding, UAVs, and tracking to efficiently monitor seabird populations around the world. Seabirds can be fantastic fisheries biologists, and we can use changes in their diets and populations as indicators of ecosystem health. During the summer, you’ll mostly find me collecting fecal samples from terns, puffins and skimmers on the East Coast to track changes in their diets over time. In the winter, I often migrate south to Antarctica, where I count and track penguins and collect fecal samples to monitor how warming around the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc is influencing food availability for the birds.
Education
Ph.D., Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Oxford and University of Southampton
M.Res., Ocean Sciences, University of Southampton
M.A., Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge
