Robert E Gill, Jr.
The movement ecology of migratory animals, especially extreme endurance migrant birds, fascinates me. Alaska migratory shorebirds have links to all hemispheres, requiring international collaborations to implement effective conservations efforts.
Through an emeritus position at the Alaska Science Center my research is focused on: 1) collaborations with an international suite of colleagues to assess the movement ecology of extreme endurance migrant shorebirds and identify the global-scale conservation issues facing their populations, and 2) releasing data to the public domain and publishing results associated with information collected during my five-decade-long tenure as a research biologist.
Professional Experience
2015 - present Scientist Emeritus USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1996 - 2015 Research Wildlife Biologist USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1993 - 1996 Wildlife Biologist NBS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1987 - 1993 Wildlife Biologist USFWS, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1984 - 1987 Wildlife Biologist Denver Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1981 - 1983 Wildlife Biologist Seattle National Fisheries Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1976 - 1980 Wildlife Biologist US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK
1973 - 1976 Wildlife Biologist California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA
Education and Certifications
Ph. D. 2010 - present Groningen University, The Netherlands
M.S. 1972 San Jose State University, San Jose, CA Biology
B.A. 1970 San Jose State College, San Jose, CA Wildlife Management
Affiliations and Memberships*
Alaska Shorebird Group (Founding member)
American Ornithologists' Union (Life member, Elective Member 1983, Fellow 2011)
Arctic Institute of North America (Life member)
Australasian Wader Studies Group (North American Representative, 2001-2010)
Canada Shorebird Plan (Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, 1998-2001)
Cooper Ornithological Society (Life member)
East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Working Group (U.S. representative, 2002-2007)
Global Flyway Network (Member, Scientific Advisory Board (2001-present)
International Wader Study Group (Life member; Executive Committee, 1999-2008; Editorial Advisory Board, 2012-present)
New Zealand Wader Study Group
Pacific Shorebird Migration Project (Co-PI, 2006-present)
Russian Working Group on Waders
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group (Founding Member; Advisory Board, 2008-present)
Western Field Ornithologists (Board of Directors, 1999-2015; Assoc. Editor, 2005-present)
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, 2004-2012)
U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (Chair, Research and Monitoring Group, 1998-2001)
Abstracts and Presentations
Five invited keynote, 14 invited, and >60 contributed presentations before various scientific bodies.
Science and Products
Spatial genetic structure of bristle-thighed curlews (Numenius tahitiensis): Breeding area differentiation not reflected on the non-breeding grounds
Breeding ecology of Wandering Tattlers Tringa incana: a study from south-central Alaska
Ways to be different: Foraging adaptations that facilitate higher intake rates in a northerly wintering shorebird compared with a low-latitude conspecific
Hemispheric-scale wind selection facilitates bar-tailed godwit circum-migration of the Pacific
Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations
Abdominally implanted satellite transmitters affect reproduction and survival rather than migration of large shorebirds
Coping with the cold: An ecological context for the abundance and distribution of rock sandpipers during winter in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska
Ecological correlates of variable organ sizes and fat loads in the most northerly-wintering shorebirds
Intercontinental migratory connectivity and population structuring of Dunlins from western Alaska
Identical metabolic rate and thermal conductance in Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) subspecies with contrasting nonbreeding life histories
Residency times and patterns of movement of postbreeding dunlin on a subarctic staging area in Alaska
Polymorphic microsatellite loci identified through development and cross-species amplification within shorebirds
Science and Products
Spatial genetic structure of bristle-thighed curlews (Numenius tahitiensis): Breeding area differentiation not reflected on the non-breeding grounds
Breeding ecology of Wandering Tattlers Tringa incana: a study from south-central Alaska
Ways to be different: Foraging adaptations that facilitate higher intake rates in a northerly wintering shorebird compared with a low-latitude conspecific
Hemispheric-scale wind selection facilitates bar-tailed godwit circum-migration of the Pacific
Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations
Abdominally implanted satellite transmitters affect reproduction and survival rather than migration of large shorebirds
Coping with the cold: An ecological context for the abundance and distribution of rock sandpipers during winter in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska
Ecological correlates of variable organ sizes and fat loads in the most northerly-wintering shorebirds
Intercontinental migratory connectivity and population structuring of Dunlins from western Alaska
Identical metabolic rate and thermal conductance in Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) subspecies with contrasting nonbreeding life histories
Residency times and patterns of movement of postbreeding dunlin on a subarctic staging area in Alaska
Polymorphic microsatellite loci identified through development and cross-species amplification within shorebirds
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government