Environmental Internship Program - 2022 Booklet

BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION
PROJECT TITLE
Predicting Energy
Expenditure of Migratory
Land Birds at Stopover
Sites
ORGANIZATION(S)
Wilcove Lab,
Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology,
Princeton University
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
David Wilcove,
Professor of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology and
Public Affairs and the
High Meadows
Environmental Institute;
Liang Ma, Associate
Research Scholar, School
of Public and
International Affairs
Bracklinn Williams ’25
MATHEMATICS
I studied how changes in North American
bird populations correlate with different
species’ physiological responses to climate.
This correlation can be used to estimate what
proportion of population decline in these species
can be directly attributed to heat stress from
climate change, how much is due to indirect
effects of climate change, and how much is
attributable to non-climate factors. The main
focus of my work was in model validation,
which involved gathering data, running
model code, and plotting the results for our
habitat microclimate model and our species
metabolism model so that we can be confident
they are both reasonably accurate. In addition,
I ran regressions and visualized data to better
understand and communicate our intermediate
results. As well as gaining experience in
modeling and in using the program R, I learned
a lot from the more creative side of the research.
I also enjoyed combining my interests in
conservation and the environment with my skills
in data science. It was an enjoyable introduction
to academic research, and I would love to do
similar work in the future.
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