Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

@birdmapper.bsky.social

140 followers 100 following 16 posts

Assistant Professor of Conservation Ecology @ucsc. #biodiversity #birds #WomeninSTEM #cienciacriolla 🇨🇴. Fulbrighter. Mum. www.nocampopenuela.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 28

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...

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.

www.nature.com

1 11

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Natalia Pérez-Amaya @nataliaperez-a.bsky.social · 9d

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

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

2 5

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Monte Neate-Clegg @mhcneateclegg.bsky.social · 21d

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...

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

open.spotify.com

1 1 5

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

People and Nature @peopleandnature.bsky.social · Sep 4

🐦‍⬛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

3 4

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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 💫

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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

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’...

news.ucsc.edu

1 1

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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).

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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 🕊️

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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)

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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 🐦

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Aug 28

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/...

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.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 3 9

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Monte Neate-Clegg @mhcneateclegg.bsky.social · Aug 26

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/...

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....

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

4 14

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Mónica Medina @momedinamunoz.bsky.social · May 13

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

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.

Colombian biodiversity mural. Cali, Colombia

1 5 20

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

BTO | British Trust for Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social · Mar 24

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

1 26 22

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Mar 10

Not to miss!

American Ornithological Society @amornith.bsky.social · Mar 10

#AOSMembers: Join us for our next #AOS_SRGS seminar, “'The canary in the gold mine': Assessing the impacts of artisanal & small-scale gold mining on bird communities in the Peruvian Amazon" on 3/17 at Noon ET, w/ Chris Sayers, UCLA Ph.D. Candidate
INFO/REG: americanornithology.org/professional...

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Mar 2

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...

Teaching Asst or Teaching Associate Professor

The position calls for teaching three classes per semester, which may include fundamental classes for biology majors such as cell biology and genetics, and biodiversity (ecology, evolution, and organi...

unc.peopleadmin.com

53 64

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Mar 3

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

1 1

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 28

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

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

ELE-ETHWSL.bsky.social @ele-ethwsl.bsky.social · Feb 3

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...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Tectono-Geomorphic Processes and Mountain Biodiversity

jobs.ethz.ch

7 6

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 28

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.

www.nature.com

1 11

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Association of Field Ornithologists @fieldornith.bsky.social · Feb 24

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

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

3 1

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 23

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

Andrés Cuervo @amcuervo.bsky.social · Feb 23

A glimpse of bird diversity from northwestern South America's complex corner, where the Andes bisect the Amazon-Orinoco basins from the Chocó, across a mosaic of sierras, valleys, deserts, and wetlands - a biodiversity hotspot.
#ornithology #birding #biodiversity #colombia pop

1 6

Reposted by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Roland Kays @rolandkays.com · Feb 21

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...

Job Bulletin

www.governmentjobs.com

22 35

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 20

A great place!

1 2

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 20

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...

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

localnewsmatters.org

1 3

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela @birdmapper.bsky.social · Feb 19

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

1 1