My name is Abbey Feuka, I’m one of the new interns at St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge for the fall. I was born in Portland, Maine and moved to Perry, Michigan where I spent most of my childhood. Last May, I earned my B.S. in Wildlife Ecology with a minor in Earth Science from the University of Maine. During my time in college, I tried to immerse myself in wildlife research, volunteer opportunities, and extra circular activities. I was a member of the Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society for all four years, and was secretary and president my junior and senior years, respectively. I was also a member of the Sheep Club on campus, where I helped tend the University’s research flock of sheep and even got to lamb a set of twins in the spring! During my senior year, I defended an Honors thesis on the effects of light pollution on leaf litter selection in Blue-spotted Salamanders and Wood Frogs. This manuscript is currently being reviewed for publication. This opportunity to design a project, collect and analyze my own data, write up the results and defend them to a committee solidified my passion for wildlife research, especially in herpetology.

My interest in wetland science and herpetology started with my first field job in 2013 as a volunteer on a PhD project studying Blue-spotted Salamander breeding ecology and genetics in central Maine. It was my first time (literally) getting my feet wet in fieldwork and I fell in love with it. As a volunteer, I learned how to catch and measure salamanders and frogs, surgically implant radio tags, and track salamanders around the forest. I worked on this project through the school year and into the summer of 2014, where I became the senior technician and was able to train other volunteers. This position also allowed me to practice my outreach and education skills by giving presentations on vernal pool ecology to underclassmen and to the public on nature walks. When classes were in session, I worked as a teaching assistant for a variety of wildlife ecology classes, which also sparked an interest in teaching and public outreach.

During the summer of 2015, I worked for the Saltmarsh Habitat Avian Research Program, a research cooperative of universities, state and federal agencies, and nonprofits, on a project in southern Maine mist-netting Saltmarsh and Nelson Sparrows. Here I learned to catch, band, and measure passerine birds. I also conducted nest searches and monitored nests from construction to fledging. I obtained more experience working with birds this past summer of 2016, where I worked for the Bureau of Reclamation as a crew lead conducting Southwest Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys in New Mexico. This job consisted of callback surveys conducted in remote locations along the Rio Grande floodplain.

In the near future I hope to work more as a field technician to learn about other taxa in different parts of the world. I hope to obtain an M.S., and possibly a PhD, in wildlife ecology, herpetology, and/or wetland science. Eventually, I would like to be a biologist at a National Wildlife Refuge. I am so thankful for my internship here at St. Mark’s, as it combines my interests in amphibians, birds, and wetlands, and I am excited to make the most of my time here!