Over the last 50 years North America has lost over one quarter of its birds- that’s nearly 3 billion birds gone. Looking forward, National Audubon Society’s 2019 Report, Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink identifies that, if we don’t take meaningful action now, future climate change will be one of the greatest threats to birds in North America. Join Dr. Brooke Bateman, Senior Director of Climate Science and Community Science for the National Audubon Society, for a presentation on how Audubon connects biodiversity and climate science to on the ground conservation, public engagement, and policy actions to address the dual biodiversity and climate crises.
As the Senior Director of Climate and Community Science at the National Audubon Society, Brooke Bateman collaborates with scientists, volunteers, and Audubon’s Climate Initiative team to develop research focused on climate and the conservation of birds and the places they need today and in the future. In this role she led a team of scientists in developing Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink, Audubon’s 2019 Birds and Climate Change Report. She also led a team of scientists in developing Audubon’s Natural Climate Solutions Report– Maintaining and restoring natural habitats to mitigate climate change, a report which provides a scientific framework to address both the biodiversity and climate crises through harnessing the natural power of our ecosystems to store carbon and provide co-benefits for birds. As the science director of Climate Watch, she works with community volunteers to understand how climate change currently affects birds in North America. Her research focus is on spatial ecology and conservation, emphasizing the effect that extreme weather events and climate change have on biodiversity. Brooke works closely with on-the-ground practitioners to link climate research to on-the-ground conservation and management actions.
Before joining the Audubon science team in 2016, Brooke conducted postdoctoral research on the influence of climate and weather on birds and marsupials with James Cook University, The University of Tasmania, and CSIRO in Australia. She also served as postdoctoral associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, later as an assistant scientist, on a NASA project researching how extreme weather events affect birds. Brooke received her PhD in Zoology and Tropical Ecology at James Cook University in Australia in 2010, a Graduate Diploma of Research Methods from James Cook University in 2006, and a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, from Boston College in 2003. Brooke enjoys hiking, drawing, rowing, ultimate frisbee, pottery, yoga, and birding with her daughter. Her favorite bird is the Common Loon.