Endangered Red Knots Garner Trent Student's Full Attention
M.Sc. candidate Amelia MacDonald's passion for shorebird study bolstered by fellowship
Amelia MacDonald, a Trent Master of Science candidate’s study of endangered Red Knot shorebirds in the James Bay region has been boosted by a fellowship awarded by the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Society for $8,000.
“We know that many Red Knots use James Bay as a stopover site where they can rebuild fat reserves needed to complete long migratory flights but we lack a quantitative estimate of the number that rely on James Bay, and what proportion of the flyway-wide population use James Bay,” explains Ms. MacDonald, who is pursuing her master’s in Environmental & Life Sciences. “Generating these estimates, to understand how important James Bay is to the species, is the primary goal of my research project. I’m also interested in what the rate of survival is for Red Knots, and how survival is influenced by factors throughout the western hemisphere.”
A native of Nova Scotia, Ms. MacDonald’s passion for shorebirds study was sparked by her interest in the huge population of Semipalmated Sandpipers that call the Bay of Fundy home. Completing her undergraduate degree at Mount Allison University at the time, she has since held wildlife biology positions at a number of remote field camps in Canada and in Peru. Hired in 2016 as a shorebird bander with the James Bay Shorebird Project, Ms. MacDonald first met Trent Biology professor Dr. Erica Nol.
“Since I already knew I loved the fieldwork and knew the great team of people involved with the project, I decided it was an ideal M.Sc. opportunity. After speaking with my co-supervisors, Professor Nol and Dr. Paul Smith, I applied to Trent. Working on the project as a graduate student has afforded me opportunities to improve my leadership and communication skills. Prof. Nol and Professor Smith have both been supportive advisors. I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunities that they’ve facilitated.”
Aided by the fellowship, Ms. MacDonald has hired a field technician to assist with her research. She intends to pursue her wildlife research and conservation work post-Trent.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) awards annual fellowships to graduate students to support field research relevant to WCS Canada’s conservation objectives at two of their long-term conservation sites: the boreal region of northern Ontario and the northern boreal mountains of Yukon and British Columbia.