Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Jun 25

@jwejeglinski.bsky.social What a fabulous talk that was!!

I hope we can catch up at the conference tomorrow - if not on the birding tour this afternoon.

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Apr 11

Has anyone else let a career milestone slip by quietly? Let's hear about it! 🧪

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Apr 11

I recently realized I’ve crossed a milestone I almost missed:
50 peer-reviewed publications! 📑📑📑📑📑

This milestone crept up slowly, quietly, in between drafts and revisions and collaborations — and if I’m honest, I nearly talked myself out of acknowledging it at all. 🤷‍♀️

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Apr 11

Here’s to the next chapter, and to noticing the #workmilestones when they come!

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Apr 11

...But, these days especially, it feels important to celebrate the work as it is: sometimes leading, sometimes supporting — and still worthy of pride. 🥳

To everyone I’ve written with, learned from, or been encouraged by along the way — THANK YOU. 🤜🤛

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Apr 11

I recently realized I’ve crossed a milestone I almost missed:
50 peer-reviewed publications! 📑📑📑📑📑

This milestone crept up slowly, quietly, in between drafts and revisions and collaborations — and if I’m honest, I nearly talked myself out of acknowledging it at all. 🤷‍♀️

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Reposted by Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm

Rowan Kuminski @rowankuminski.bsky.social · Jan 19

Just read the article "What Do We Do About John James Audubon?", after attending an event by the same name hosted by @fieldinclusive.bsky.social . I highly recommend checking out the article and event recording:

www.audubon.org/magazine/spr...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTI5...

🪶

What Do We Do About John James Audubon?

The founding father of American birding soared on the wings of white privilege. The birding community and organizations that bear his name must grapple with this racist legacy to create a more just...

www.audubon.org

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Reposted by Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm

Stu Butchart @stubutchart.bsky.social · Dec 17

Avian flu has had devastating consequences on many seabird populations, but after disastrous breeding seasons in 2022-2023, Roseate Terns on Coquet island, UK, produced more chicks in 2024 than ever before. Good news for one of our rarest seabirds. www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/C...

Coquet's Roseate Terns bounce back after devasting avian flu deaths

A colony of one of the UK’s rarest breeding seabirds, devastated by Avian Influenza in 2022 and 2023 has produced more chicks than ever before

www.rarebirdalert.co.uk

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Reposted by Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm

RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · Dec 4

We humbly interrupt your scroll to bring you the news that Wisdom—the world's oldest known wild bird—is breeding again, age 74.

Go on girl. 😍

A screenshot of a social media post from USFWSPacific that reads:

"SHE DID IT AGAIN!

Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, is back with a new partner and just laid yet another egg.

At an approximate age of 74, the queen of seabirds returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge last week and began interacting with a male."

This tweet is paired with an image of two Laysan Albatrosses at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird, is shown alongside her new partner, demonstrating her enduring legacy as a remarkable seabird.

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Reposted by Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm

Dr Sjúrður Hammer @sjurdur.bsky.social · Dec 13

Skúgvoy seabird populations: Fulmar -89%
Kittiwake -87%
Arctic skua -84% since 2001! #seabirds and all these species are legal to hunt year roynd 🧪🌍

Dr Sjúrður Hammer @sjurdur.bsky.social · Dec 11

Happy to share this quite monumental paper on the birdlife of my favorite island in the whole world - Skúgvoy or "skua island"

Long story short, seabird declines are drastic and accelerating. Terrestrial bird populations are generally more stable. #seabirds 🧪🌍

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Population trends of marine versus terrestrial bird species on Skúgvoy, Faroe Islands, 1961–2023

Long-term breeding bird censuses on the Faroese Island of Skúgvoy showed differing trends of declining seabird populations and more stable terrestrial birds.To examine the population trends from 19...

www.tandfonline.com

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

Article by @emilyanthes.bsky.social!

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

The devastating toll of H5N1 on wild birds is hard to fathom, and sadly, they're not alone. Honoured to contribute to this @nytimes.com story alongside colleagues* working to understand this crisis. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/s...

* @duckswabber.bsky.social @johannaharvey.bsky.social

For Wild Animals, the Bird Flu Disaster Is Already Here

Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could set off another human pandemic. But it is already putting species under pressure in the wild.

www.nytimes.com

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

Thanks to my coauthors Liam Taylor, Tania Barychka, Sea McKeon and Natasha Bartolotta for their collaboration on this project!

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

Conclusion: Our study suggests that #iNaturalist data can help characterize a mass mortality event, but with major limitations. It is a valuable complement to, but *not* a replacement for, comprehensive mortality assessments!

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

The cons:

👉iNaturalist vastly underestimated deaths (~200 reported vs. 40,000+ confirmed)
👉Missed some species & regions, especially in remote areas

Figure 3. Spatial comparison of avian deaths between iNaturalist data and a comprehensive dataset of mortality linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza in waterbirds, eastern Canada 2022. Spatial distribution is defined as the 95% isopleth of mortality locations (kernel smoothing parameter h = 0.3). Black contours show spatial distribution from the iNaturalist dataset. The comprehensive occurrence distribution (orange) treats mortality records from the comprehensive dataset as individual points, regardless of reported mortality, whereas the comprehensive concentration distribution (red) duplicates mortalities based on the number of dead birds reported at each location. Orange dashed line indicates the full extent (convex hull) of mortality from the comprehensive dataset.

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

The pros:
👉Identified key species (e.g., Northern Gannets)
👉Pinpointed hotspots & timing of high mortality

Figure 1. Taxonomic comparison of avian deaths between iNaturalist data and a comprehensive dataset of mortality linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza in waterbirds, eastern Canada 2022. Gray bars show the proportion of deaths among different waterbird taxa within the comprehensive dataset (N = 40,109 reported mortalities). Black bars show the proportion of deaths within the smaller iNaturalist dataset (N = 283 reported mortalities). (a) Organized by species, showing only the 10 most commonly reported taxa from the comprehensive dataset; (b) organized by taxonomic family, showing all records. See Appendix S1: Table S1 for original taxonomic labels.

Figure 2. Temporal comparison of avian deaths between iNaturalist data and a comprehensive dataset of mortality linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza in waterbirds, eastern Canada 2022. Records are binned by week. Shaded regions mark the shortest interval containing 51% of reported mortalities. (a) Weekly proportion of reported mortality; (b) weekly proportions after excluding gannet colony surveys, which offered delayed snapshots of mortality, from the comprehensive dataset.

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

In 2022, seabirds in eastern Canada faced a devastating avian influenza outbreak. 🐦💔 We analyzed iNaturalist records to see how well they captured seabird mortality.

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

🚨 New research alert! 🚨
Can citizen science platforms like #iNaturalist help monitor wildlife disease and mortality? Our new study, published in #Ecosphere, uses the massive 2022 #avianflu outbreak in eastern Canada as a case study! 🦅https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70051

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 13

This research offers a deep dive into the effects on #Newfoundland #seabirds, but for the regional picture, check the study that summarizes what we know of the 2022 #HPAI mortality event in Eastern Canada! esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

🚨 New research alert! 🚨
Our paper on the devastating effects of the 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak on Newfoundland seabirds has just been published in @cdnsciencepub.bsky.social 🪶
Dive into McPhail et al., 2024 here: doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

a seagull is flying over a body of water with a duck in the background

ALT: a seagull is flying over a body of water with a duck in the background

media.tenor.com

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

Grateful to collaborate with Bill Montevecchi's amazing team at the @memorialu.bsky.social! Let’s continue advancing research & conservation to safeguard seabird populations. 💪✨

Have questions or thoughts about our findings? Let’s discuss!

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

This research highlights the urgent need to prioritize a One Health approach to addressing HPAI in North America. The impact on seabird populations is a wake-up call. 🌍🐦

Read the full study: doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

Northern Gannets, Common Murres, Atlantic Puffins, & Black-legged Kittiwakes were the hardest hit. Mortality peaked in July & August, spreading west to east across Newfoundland. Species traits like nesting density & migration patterns may have influenced susceptibility.

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

In 2022, HPAI H5N1 caused unprecedented seabird mortality across the North Atlantic. Newfoundland experienced one of the worst outbreaks in Canada, with ~13,517 estimated seabird deaths from April to September. 😔
Here’s what we found. 👇

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Dec 12

🚨 New research alert! 🚨
Our paper on the devastating effects of the 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak on Newfoundland seabirds has just been published in @cdnsciencepub.bsky.social 🪶
Dive into McPhail et al., 2024 here: doi.org/10.1139/cjz-...

a seagull is flying over a body of water with a duck in the background

ALT: a seagull is flying over a body of water with a duck in the background

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm

David Steel @steelyseabirder.bsky.social · Dec 1

Morning welcome to Super Seabird Sunday where we ask you to share videos, photos & artwork of Seabirds to brighten up the day. Here is my contribution…those inquisitive Puffins of the Isle of May #SuperSeabirdSunday #Seabirds

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Dr. Stephanie Avery-Gomm @saverygo.bsky.social · Nov 25

I’m a conservation scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. I lead research on the cumulative effects and impacts of offshore wind energy, avian influenza, and plastic pollution on seabirds.
🌐 stephanieaverygomm.weebly.com
📄 scholar.google.ca/citations?us...
🔗 orcid.org/0000-0003-28...

Seabird researcher Stephanie Avery-Gomm exchanges looks with a Common Murre on an island in eastern Canada.

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