Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

tim with jane

In the wake of Jane Goodall’s passing last week, many of our researchers here at UC Santa Cruz shared fond memories of Goodall and appreciation for her role as a champion of the natural world. Hear from a few faculty members who have been and will continue to be inspired by her legacy ⬇️

Century-long shifts in body size and proportions of lowland rainforest birds - Evolutionary Ecology Evolutionary Ecology - Climate change is having profound impacts on biodiversity, with notable effects on the distribution, and morphology of species. Many studies have documented changes in body...

📖 doi.org/10.1007/s106...
@amcuervo.bsky.social
@cdanielcadena.bsky.social
@birdmapper.bsky.social
@mhcneateclegg.bsky.social
@julisoto.bsky.social
@UNALoficial
@MincienciasCo
@inst_humboldt

09-33: Why Birders Go Where They Go with Natalia Ocamp-Peñuela & Scott Winton

Following on from our avitourism paper in @peopleandnature.bsky.social, you can hear @birdmapper.bsky.social and @rswamper.bsky.social discuss the paper on the @amornith.bsky.social podcast. Have a listen! open.spotify.com/episode/2J1J...

🐦‍⬛New Research: Human development, societal stability and bird capital predict global tourist eBirding activity➡️ buff.ly/n7EUFbY

"Birdwatchers choose to visit countries that are safe, well-developed, and full of unique birds"
@birdmapper.bsky.social
@mhcneateclegg.bsky.social
@rsawmper.bsky.social

We highlight that birdwatching tourism, as any other type of development, needs to be led by and benefit local communities, ensuring that birds and their habitats are protected, and that its development is equitable and inclusive 💫

Birdwatching tourism is booming. Some countries are benefiting, while others are left behind Birding tourism can support sustainable development and habitat conservation across the tropics, but only if countries can successfully attract birders. New research reveals what affects birdwatchers’...

For an enjoyable read summarizing the paper results, see this @ucscscience.bsky.social press release: news.ucsc.edu/2025/08/bird...

We mapped birdwatching tourism activity in relation to concentration of relative small-range richness. Some countries have high bird capital and tourism (blue and purple), others have high bird capital and not a lot of tourism (pink), while others have high tourism despite low bird capital (blue).

When looking at the drivers of birdwatching tourism, we find that birders seek places with high species richness 🦜, high numbers of small-range birds 🪶, high human development 🙌, and low safety concerns 🕊️

Visitor to different tropical regions come mostly from the US and Canada, the UK, and Australia. Some countries have low tourism rates despite high bird capital (e.g. Bolivia, Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, DRC)

Using data from @teamebird.bsky.social for 155 countries, we show a growth in birding activity for some countries (e.g. Colombia and India), and growth of birdwatching tourism for others (e.g. Colombia and South Africa). Note a pandemic dip in tourism but not local birding 🐦

Human development, societal stability and bird capital predict global tourist eBirding activity Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

New paper 🚨
We studied drivers of birdwatching tourism globally using @teamebird.bsky.social data, bird distributions, and socioeconomic data. Published in @peopleandnature.bsky.social with @mhcneateclegg.bsky.social, @rswamper.bsky.social. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Range‐restricted species are poor proxies for functional diversity in the world's largest avifauna We assessed the relationship between avian taxonomic richness (four metrics) and functional diversity (three metrics) across Colombia, the country with the most bird species. We found total species r....

New paper 🚨 with @birdmapper.bsky.social! We mapped various diversity metrics for the colossal avifauna of Colombia! Species and functional richness are tightly linked but range-restricted endemics do not capture functional diversity well conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, Felipe Zapata, Mónica Medina and Julián Prieto co-authors of the paper standing outside the COP16 Green Zone in downtown Cali, Colombia.

Bird mural. Cali, Colombia

Colombian biodiversity mural. Cali, Colombia

Glad to share this new publication on the role of scientific diasporas in facilitating global biodiversity research and conservation goals rdcu.be/elSmJ. The result of the Colombian diaspora organizing during COP16 2024 in Cali, Colombia. @juliprieto.bsky.social @birdmapper.bsky.social

Cut out image of a Robin perched on a rock in front of a purple background. Wording to the left of the image reads: Work with us! Database Developer. www.bto.org/jobs. BTO logo is top right of the image.

New Job Alert! 📢 Join BTO as a Database Developer. Apply online ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs

📝 Salary: £34,578
📅 Full time role, part-time will be considered
🏠 Hybrid working policy

Not to miss!

I work in amazing place: UNC-Chapel Hill Biology. Our faculty of ~50 includes folks engaged in both basic science & pedagogical research. We have an opening for a new Teaching Assistant or Associate Professor to join us in July 2025-happy to answer questions RT
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/297...

Si eres guía de Aviturismo en Colombia 🇨🇴, te invitamos a llenar esta encuesta sobre los impactos económicos y sociales del aviturismo para un estudio. Sólo toma 10 mins. Por favor compartir!
tinyurl.com/encuestaaviturismo

Thank you! And thanks for sharing your writing also 🙌🏽

Postdoctoral Researcher in Tectono-Geomorphic Processes and Mountain Biodiversity

The Laboratory of Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution at the ETH Zurich is looking for candidates to fill a post-doctoral position as part of the fully funded SNSF Consolidator project “Burgeon”.

Check out the detail at: jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP...

The balancing act of being an academic and a mother - Nature Human Behaviour Academia is not a welcoming place for women who want both a family and a career. Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela draws on her own experience to explain how this must change.

It’s not easy to be a (present) mum and an (effective) academic, but we can manage both if we have supportive teams, welcome flexibility, and lead with kindness.
Here is an editorial I wrote for @nature.com Human Behavior about my experience with this balancing act 🤹🏻‍♀️

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Pequeñas subvenciones para sesiones de certificación de anillamiento para Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Oportunidad restringida a candidatos de América Latina y el Caribe. Fecha límite: 31 de marzo, 2025 Aplica en www.animalecology.org/grants

El Consejo Norteamericano de Anillamiento (NABC) abre la convocatoria a pequeñas becas para apoyar el desarrollo y certificación de anilladores de aves de América Latina y el Caribe.

Aplica aquí: https://shorturl.at/camzZ

#AFOGrantsandAwards #anilladodeaves #NABC

That’s why we are the bird paradise 🫶🏽🇨🇴🦜

We have a cool new job that just opened up at the museum.
Head of Conservation ($50-$88K)

Be the champion for the conservation activities and the related messaging for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

www.governmentjobs.com/careers/%7B0...

A great place!

Modern day 'bird seers' track environmental health at longest running avian field station - Local News Matters IN ANCIENT ROME “bird seers” were priests, or augurs, who delivered prophecies based on their observations of birds. The right combination of bird

A nice story about Palomarin Field Station, where I and many others were trained in bird banding. Great times there more than a decade ago now!
Long-term monitoring is so valuable for ecology and conservation 🙌🏽 🪶

localnewsmatters.org/2025/02/19/m...

😂🤣 you need a trip to the tropics as a reward!

Come work with us! We're hiring a Senior Manager, Quantitative Science on National Audubon Society's Science Team (1/2)

audubon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Audubo...

Brett Scheffers and I are seeking a postdoctoral research scholar to join the 2025-2027 Future of Species Range Shifts cohort as part of the Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral (CAP) Fellows Program.

The postdoc would be hosted here at UF.

More here: jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id...

Global biodiversity loss from outsourced deforestation - Nature An analysis of global deforestation linked to consumption of products in the supply chains of large economies finds greater losses for vertebrate species’ ranges outside these countries than in them.

Global biodiversity loss from outsourced deforestation

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Why thousands of people are traveling to one country to see these birds An unexpected industry is booming in Colombia. Here’s why that’s a good thing.

I wrote a feature about birdwatching in Colombia, which turns out to be about much more than staring at some (very beautiful) birds.

Reporting on wildlife is usually bleak but this story gave me some actual hope. Hope! I do know her!
www.vox.com/down-to-eart...