Ms Kazeh Nanchin Winifred
Research Associate
I was at the A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI) in 2014 as a M.Sc. student. My M.Sc. project was about the African Thrush (Turdus pelios) and how parasitic load affects body condition in this species. I collected ectoparasites, blood, and fecal samples from 77 birds. The project concludes that the African Thrush serves as a reservoir for human intestinal parasites due to their proximity to human habitats and their feeding habits. It is also a proxy for environmental sanitation awareness. This work was presented at the 14th Pan-Africa Ornithological Congress (PAOC) in 2016.
Internship Project: I was an intern at the University of St. Andrews Scotland under the supervision of Professor Will Cresswell for one month (31st March to 27th April 2018). The internship was sponsored by the Mirian Rothschild Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) internship programme funded by Arcadia. While there, I worked on a collaborative project with my supervisor. I collect and manage all the data that could be accessed through published articles on the population trends of Palearctic and Nearctic migrant birds. The aim of collecting the data is to look at migratory connectivity concerning the population trends of migrant birds in Europe and North America and how the human population on their wintering grounds in Africa and South America respectively is affecting their trends. The work is now published in Diversity and Distribution Journal of Conservation Biogeography https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13006.
I am currently a Project Assistant on the ongoing Nigeria Bird Atlas Project (NiBAP). I am responsible for collecting, managing, and uploading old/historical records into the NiBAP database. Sometimes I joined the atlas team for fieldwork. I also work on the changes in the distribution of some African bird species using the NiBAP database. Presently, I am working on a manuscript on the changes in the distribution of the range-restricted Rock Firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis) in Nigeria. This was part of the results I presented in 2018 at both the Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) at Cambridge, UK, and at the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) in Vancouver, Canada. I am a Ph.D. applicant looking forward to working with the NiBAP datasets to explore more about distribution changes and the factors that drive them.
As part of the NiBAP strategy of mapping the distribution of all Nigerian birds, clubs are being formed all over the country. This is also in a bit to create awareness about birds and the environment. In that respect, I volunteer at the Jos Bird Club (JBC) as the club secretary. I helped in selecting sites for birding, organizing the club outings, and writing short update reports about the outings.
Area of research interest: Micro ecology, Avian Parasitology, Conservation Biology and Ethno-ornithology
nanchinwinifred@aplori.org