Samantha Franks

Senior Research Ecologist

Samantha works on a range of projects examining the affect of climate and habitat change on bird populations, with a particular focus on migrants and waders.

Interests & Responsibilities

Sam's research interests focus on exploring how our changing environment is influencing bird populations, particularly for long-distance migrants and waders. She is particularly interested in investigating the ecological processes driving population change and linking these to changes in demographic processes such as survival and productivity.  Sam is leading elements of the BTO's breeding wader research, with a particular focus on curlew, and is co-supervising a PhD project with University of East Anglia on the curlew population breeding in the Brecks.  Her interest in waders dovetails with her love for upland and Arctic ecosystems and her years working on Alaskan-breeding shorebirds.  Sam has used a range of methods, including stable isotypes, geolocators, satellite and GPS tags to track the movements and migratory connectivity of bird populations to investigate how birds interact with their environment throughout the annual cycle. 

Previous and current projects include exploring the habitat use of BTO's satellite-tagged cuckoos during autumn migration, investigating the drivers of population declines in UK-breeding Curlew using Breeding Bird Survey data, examining how climate change might impact UK bird populations through changes in the timing of breeding and invertebrate availability in spring, and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures for European grassland waders.

Sam also represents BTO in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative's (CCI) David Attenborough Building as the Collaborative Coordinator. Her aims for this role are to develop and facilitate strategic collaborations for BTO within the CCI and wider conservation communities.

In her spare time, Sam is a ringer and photographer, and rings with the Wash Wader and Little Ouse Ringing Groups.  She is keen to influence the next generation of wildlife conservationists, and endeavours to ensure her daughter knows the difference between a godwit and a curlew from a young age.

Other Information

Associate Editor for Wader Study

Qualifications

2012 - PhD, Simon Fraser University, Canada: Population connectivity and the causes and consequences of differential migration in a long distance migratory shorebird, the Western Sandpiper 2005 - BSc Honours Zoology, University of Toronto, Canada

Other Publications

Weiser, E.L., Lanctot, R.B., Brown, S.C., Gates, H.R., Bentzen, R.L., Boldenow, M.L., Cunningham, J.A., Doll, A.C., Donnelly, T.F., English, W.B., Franks, S.E., Grond, K., Herzog, P., Hill, B.L., Kendall, S.J., Kwon, E., Lank, D.B., Liebezeit, J.R., Rausch, J., Saalfeld, S.T., Taylor, A.R., Ward, D.H., Woodard, P.F. & Sandercock, B.K. 2018.  Effects of leg flags on nest survival of four species of Arctic-breeding shorebirds. Journal of Field Ornithology 89: 287-297

Weiser, E.L., Lanctot, R.B., Brown, S.C., Bentzen, R.L., Bêty, J., Boldenow, M.L., English, W.B., Franks, S.E., Gates, H.R., Koloski, L., Kwon, E., Lamarre, J-.F., Lank, D.B., Liebezeit, J.R., McKinnon, L., Nol, E., Rausch, J., Saalfeld, S.T., Senner, N.R., Ward, D., Woodard, P.F. & Sandercock, B.K. 2017. Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds. Auk 135: 29-43