Lucy Zipf, PhD
I am a community ecologist studying the integrated impacts of co-occurring global changes - climate, habitat, and conservation management - on biological communities. I am currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College where I teach courses in organismal biology, ecology, environmental science, and biostatistics. In 2020 I earned my PhD in Biology with a certificate in Biogeoscience in Richard Primack’s lab at Boston University.
In my current research, I investigate the effects of climate change and land management on Massachusetts bird and insect populations in partnership with local conservation organizations and community scientists using observational field studies and statistical modeling. I am broadly interested in investigating place-based impacts of human-driven change on communities across trophic levels, and narrowly interested in fun pictures of birds.
Research
Human-driven climate, habitat, and land use changes often co-occur in ecological communities. I study the integrated impacts of climate, habitat, and land management on aerial insectivores, birds that eat insects while in flight, and their insect prey.
I use and champion Tree Swallows (pictured above!) as a model organism for field ecology and study the reproductive biology of Tree Swallows as well as abundance and distribution of their aerial insect prey in Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuaries across Massachusetts. My current research products investigate:
Change in the abundance and quality of aerial insects within and across MA conservation areas
Impacts of local habitat, climate, and prey availability on reproductive performance
Effects of artificial nesting habitat (think bird houses) management on reproductive performance of cavity nesting birds
For more info on these + more projects, click on the “research” tab at the top of the page.
Science education is a huge (and infinitely rewarding!) part of my career.
I work with my students to build skills in science literacy, observation, and analysis that they can take with them into careers in the sciences and beyond. You can check out more about my teaching practices — including syllabi, assignments, and student outcomes — in the “teaching” tab.
I also really enjoy making my own icons and diagrams for lecturers and talks, which you can check out on the “illustrations” page.
Teaching
Outreach
I simply cannot stop talking and writing about birds, phenology, and local-scale climate change. Luckily, people keep listening.
Check out some recent talks:
