Kate Williams
Ecological Analyst
Phone: (207) 839-7600 ex. 108 /Fax: (207) 839-7655
kate.williams@briloon.org
Biography
Kate graduated from Tufts University in 2004 with dual bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies. She has a master’s degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida (2007), where she studied wading birds in the Florida Everglades. Her degree was focused on quantitative ecology, and she has extensive statistical and modeling backgrounds. Her resume includes the development of a new population modeling technique to analyze data from aerial photographs of bird colonies, and extensive database management and statistical and spatial analysis in both the public and private sectors. Kate has also conducted field work on numerous taxa in North and Central America, including species of seabirds, wading birds, shorebirds, saltwater fishes, and mammals.
Current Projects
Kate is developing and managing the multimedia National Mercury Monitoring Database (MercNet). MercNet is intended to:
- identify places where additional mercury monitoring is needed;
- allow for the comparison and analysis of existing data from disparate sources; and
- develop a baseline mercury record for tracking the efficacy of federal and state mercury air rules over time.
The database is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is expected to be an invaluable international resource for researchers and policymakers. As part of the development of MercNet, Kate is organizing a series of regional mercury monitoring workshops around the United States.
Kate’s current work at BRI also includes the spatial and temporal analysis of mercury data obtained from sediment, soil, water, and wildlife samples; assistance with the development of a model to relate air deposition of mercury in the Northeastern U.S. with the concentrations and effects of mercury in wildlife; BRI database development; and demographic population modeling for Common Loons.
Research interests
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Population modeling; waterbirds; watershed management; the development of monitoring regimes to inform public policy
Publications and Technical Reports:
- Williams, K.A., P.C. Frederick, P.S. Kubilis, and J.C. Simon. 2008. Bias in aerial estimates of the number of nests in White Ibis and Great Egret colonies. Journal of Field Ornithology 79(4):
438-447.
- Williams, K.A. 2007. Biases in population estimation for colonially nesting Great Egrets (Ardea alba) and White Ibises (Eudocimus albus) in the Florida Everglades. Master’s thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville.
