Pete Warzybok

Principal Scientist

Pete Warzybok is a Principal Scientist and Farallon Program Leader, with Point Blue Conservation Science. Point Blue is a research based, conservation science, non-profit whose mission is to advance the conservation of birds, other wildlife, and ecosystems through science, partnerships, and outreach. Pete’s work focuses on the ecology and conservation of marine ecosystems, overseeing research activities at Point Blue’s long-term research station on Southeast Farallon Island and maintaining our long-term monitoring data on the populations, breeding success, phenology, and diet of marine birds and mammals.

Pete grew up in New York and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the State University of New York at Purchase. After graduating he worked for several seasons on a waterfowl management project in suburban New York, as well as seabird monitoring projects with USGS in Alaska and USFWS in Maine.

Pete first joined the Farallon Program as a volunteer seabird research assistant in the spring of 2000 and was hired as a program biologist the following year. After having worked on the Farallones for several years, he returned to graduate school at Humboldt State University where he studied the diet and energy requirements of Common Murres by modeling prey consumption and examining the effects of environmental conditions on prey availability. His current research interests include the study of seabird diet and foraging ecology and the impacts of ecosystem variability on the breeding success and population dynamics of Farallon seabirds and pinnipeds.

To date, Pete has spent over 2,500 days living and working on the Farallon Islands. When not on the Farallones, he works from his home in Mendota Heights, MN doing data management, analysis, report and manuscript preparation, fundraising, outreach, and logistical support for the Farallon staff. In his spare time, Pete enjoys birding, hiking, paddling, and exploring nature with his wife Amy and dog Sequoia.

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