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Garrett Duncan

Farallon Winter Biologist

I am the current seasonal winter biologist for the Farallon Program, the emphasis of which is to monitor the breeding colony of Northern Elephant Seals. The continuation of our long term data set is not only useful for documenting the species rebound from near extinction in the early 20th century and the recolonization of the Farallon Islands in the early 1970s, but also to study the effects of climate change on marine mammal breeding dynamics. Due to their migratory behavior, the health and productivity of Northern Elephant Seals are excellent indicators of large scale marine ecosystem stability and abundance.

I graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Geology but have since applied myself to wildlife ecology and conservation. I participated in several avian research projects including a Cloud Forest Ecology Project in Colombia and a Grassland Songbird Productivity study in Montana. In 2016, I was a Summer Banding Intern at the Palomarin Field Station and worked on the Farallon Islands in the 2016 and 2017 fall seasons.

When I’m not on the Farallones, I live in Portland, Oregon and work with UC Berkeley’s Black Rail Project in the Sierra Foothills and NexGen Energy Systems Inc. installing solar power systems for remote field stations.