Hello, my name is Chloe Arbogast, and I am one of the Summer 2022 interns at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge! I am a Florida native and have lived in Central Florida my whole life. From a young age my parents fostered a love for wildlife and took my sister and I exploring in nature. While visiting zoos and aquariums I was always fascinated by the animals and wanted to learn more. Throughout my whole life I continued to grow an interest with wildlife however didn’t know what I could do. During my high school experience, I discovered how some wildlife species were under threat and how it was a serious concern. I started to volunteer at a Bird Hospital in Ponce Inlet and learned how to take care of injured animals as well as ambassador animals. Before I started volunteering at the Bird Hospital I didn’t have an interest in birds, however after it I developed a real passion for birds. This experience also pushed me to learn more about wildlife conservation and how I could be involved in the wildlife field.

I started to attend the University of Florida in Fall of 2020 and majored in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. In spring of 2021, I was an Alachua Audubon intern and gained some field experience with banding songbirds and monitoring various bird species. I also learned how complex bird communities are and what it takes to protect these animals. This internship also gave me my first field experience with wildlife, and I quickly fell in love with it. That summer I had an internship with the Nature Coast Biological Station and learned about the outreach side of wildlife. I discovered how to get scientific research out to the public so that they can help our ecosystems. In late 2021, I started volunteering with Dr. Sieving’s lab by working on a bluebird project on how noise pollution can affect the birds’ incubation process. I am now about to start my final year at the University of Florida and am currently working on an honors thesis about how tufted titmice alarm calls affect gray squirrel behavior.

I am hoping to broaden my field work experience with avian species through this internship as well as learn about how wildlife agencies manage the different ecosystems we have in Florida. I would love to expand upon my knowledge of wildlife and learn what goes into conserving species that rely on diverse habitats. I am also really excited to work with some amphibians especially salamanders because I have never worked or seen them before. I also find it very interesting how they can show us how the environment is doing and whether something needs to change. I look forward to exploring north Florida and learning as much as I can during this internship.