Field trip to the top of Cerro Jeffe outside Panama City, Panama.
(L:R) Fernando Faria, Julian Garcia-Walther, Nathan Senner, Luke Wilde, Jennifer Linscott, and Maina Handmaker.
Nathan Senner, ​Assistant Professor
Nathan started studying birds at the age of 14. After earning a B.A. from Carleton College, he was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to follow Hudsonian Godwits on their annual migration from the Arctic to the southern tip of South America and back. He continued this research while pursuing his PhD at Cornell University with Dr. John Fitzpatrick. From there, he traveled across the Atlantic for a postdoc with Dr. Theunis Piersma at the University of Groningen studying the flexibility of Black-tailed Godwit annual cycles. Following that, he was a postdoc at the University of Montana with Dr. Zachary Cheviron investigating the population dynamics of high-elevation deer mice. In his free time, Nathan trains with his running partner, Oliver (three-time canine champion of the Snow Joke Half Marathon and inarguably Montana's fastest dog).
Julián Garcia-Walther, PhD Student
​​Julián earned a B.S. in Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico and an MSc. in International Nature Conservation from Gottingen University in Germany and Lincoln University in New Zealand. As a part of his MSc. work, he authored the Atlas de las aves playeras de Chile. For his PhD, Julián is studying the little-known shorebird Calidris canutus roselaari, the rarest of all Red Knot subspecies. Every year, roselaari Red Knots spend the winter on the warm coasts of western Mexico then migrate thousands of kilometers to breed on Wrangel Island, Russia and in Western Alaska. Climate change is causing the Arctic to warm faster than any other region of the planet and Julian will investigate how these changes are influencing the development and survival of young knots.

Julian is supported by the Grace Jordan McFadden Future Professors Program.
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Julian's ResearchGate Profile
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​Maina Handmaker, MSc Student
Maina earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Visual Arts from Bowdoin College. She joined the Senner Lab from the Manomet Shorebird Recovery Program team, where she worked as the Communications Specialist for the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). For her MSc. research, Maina is studying the role nocturnal roost sites play in the stopover ecology and migratory performance of Atlantic flyway Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). By tracking Whimbrel movements during and after their spring stopover on the coast of South Carolina, she is investigating how individuals select foraging and roosting sites and working to better understand how those choices influence their entire annual cycle. Maina hopes this new information about Whimbrel migratory behavior can inform targeted conservation action to help turn the tide for this declining species.

Maina will be supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
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Check out Maina's Whimbrel story map!
Jenny Linscott, MSc Student
Before becoming a biologist, Jenny received a B.A. in English from Hendrix College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi. She then became an Assistant Professor at Baton Rouge Community College, teaching courses in research and technical writing. During that time she discovered a passion for birds and began working field jobs around the Western Hemisphere. Jenny's MSc. research is focused on the migration of Hudsonian Godwits through mid-continental North America. She is hoping to understand how habitat quality and abiotic conditions encountered during migration affect godwit stopover behavior, migratory performance, and reproductive success. She also has a keen interest in outreach and science communication.
Luke Wilde, MSc Student
Luke received his B.S. in Biology from Gonzaga University with research experiences in Costa Rica and Ecuador. He then worked as an outdoor educator in Yellowstone National Park, a field assistant for the University of Washington monitoring the survival of ungulates, and a technician for the University of Montana studying the effects of parasites on deer mice. For his MSc. research, Luke is working at our long-term field site in sub-Arctic Alaska where he is trying to understand how climate change is leading to changes in trophic interactions among Hudsonian Godwits and one of their main predators, the red fox. He also hopes to use his work to empower local conservation efforts. 
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Luke is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
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Luke's ResearchGate Profile & personal webpage
Co-advisees:
  • Fernando Faria, PhD Student at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, coadvised with Leandro Bugoni
  • Rose Swift, PhD 2018 from Cornell University, coadvised with Amanda Rodewald
  • Mo Verhoeven, PhD Student at the University of Groningen, coadvised with Theunis Piersma
Collaborators: