Sarah Hoepfner

I grew up in rural Alaska where I gained an appreciation for being outside and bird migration. I received my B.S. in biology with a focus in ecology and biodiversity at Humboldt State in northern California. While there I enjoyed being able to take classes like ornithology and shorebird ecology, and participate in winter shorebird surveys. During the summers I worked as a field tech studying tundra nesting birds on the North Slope of Alaska and within Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I loved these experiences and learning about the incredible species that nest in such a harsh and remote area. For my master's research I am studying the effects of human disturbance on nest survival of Dunlin at Utqiagvik, Alaska using high-frequency GPS transmitters to monitor movements and inferred behavior.