20 March 2017:
2014 SCAR Fellow Jaimie Cleeland investigated the population drivers for a community of Southern Ocean albatrosses. Ms Cleeland is a PhD student at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Australia, and worked with Dr Richard Phillips at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, UK.
The SCAR Fellowship enabled Jaimie to diversify her analytical skills from foraging ecology to become proficient in demographic modelling and population analysis. These skills were applied to the albatross communities on Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. An unexpected result was that heavy grazing by invasive rabbits, and climate driven extreme rainfall events played a considerable role in regulating albatross breeding. Jaimie shared her experience through remote educational activities with schools in Australia while at BAS and upon her return has supported fellow postgraduates at IMAS with tutorials on the skills acquired during her Fellowship as well as a presentation on what SCAR is and tips for applying for the Fellowship.
Jaimie reported “Not only did the SCAR Fellowship connect me with world leaders in Antarctic Science, but also an invaluable network of early career scientists that will one day be world leaders.”
The full report is available on the Fellows webpages together with the full list of SCAR Fellows and available Reports.