Tatiana’s journey into Seabird Science

Tatiana Klein's fascination for seabirds was born in Alaska, and it has led her to Tvärminne Zoological Station for field work with common eiders. The goal of her current study is to better understand reasons behind female eiders' nesting success, and potentially help conservation efforts of this endangered species.

After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in ecology and biodiversity at the University of Denver in Colorado in 2021 Tatiana has found her special niche in seabird research. She has a specific interest in polar regions and after a season working with spectacled eiders in the Yukon Delta in Alaska, she moved to Finland and the University of Helsinki for her master’s thesis.

“After hearing that there was an opportunity to continue working with eiders and for my thesis, I knew it was the perfect project for me”, Tatiana says.

“I was really hoping to find a program where I could combine both lab and field work and stumbled upon this program in Helsinki. My current study is looking at what drives female common eiders to experience greater nesting success as they age.”

Endangered eider populations 

The common eider is a keystone species of the Baltic Sea. Long-term monitoring of the common eider has been conducted at Tvärminne Zoological Station for over three decades using an individually marked population. Still there is a lot to understand. 

The population in the Baltic Sea is set in a precipitous decline, the reasons for which are debated.

Tatiana Klein hopes that her detailed study on the interrelationships between individual traits, incubation behavior, nest-site selection and nest success may provide valuable insights on the prerequisites for successful reproduction in this declining endangered population.

“There are so many factors that go into nesting success (behavioral, environmental, physiological, predator-prey) and I have been given the opportunity to sort through years of data and publications to decide which factors I am most interested in looking into”.

The eider research group, led by Markus Öst, has been collecting photographic data at Tvärminne since the spring of 2019. Trail- camera photographs provide information about predator-prey interactions as well as behavioral data such as incubation break timing and latency to return to the nest. 

Additionally, body measurements (skull measurements, body condition, weight, humerus length, stress levels), and nest location data (distance from water and nest coverage) is collected of each individual.

“At the moment I am really hoping to use hormonal data as this would be my first time working with this sort of data. For one of my questions, I would love to be able to see how age, stress hormones, and behavior surrounding predator attacks play into one another and what this can mean for the success of a nest.”, Tatiana explains.

Why is this important?

“Common eiders are considered an endangered species in Europe. These results are important as they will add to the knowledge we have of common eiders. By better understanding how nesting success increases as an individual gains experience we will gain a better understanding of the life history of the species in the Baltic. This information can potentially be used in conservation efforts to help support the conservation of common eiders”, Tatiana points out.

When do you expect to see some results?

“Once I have completed collecting data from the trail cameras (years 2019-2024) and have received the results from the blood plasma/stress hormone samples, I will be able to begin my statistical analyses which is where I will start to see some results.”

Tatiana Klein is expecting to finalize her master’s thesis in the summer of 2025. 

From the ocean to the desert and back

After completing her field season studying common eiders at Tvärminne, Tatiana found herself working as a mammal technician in the desert of Nevada, very far away from the Baltic Sea.

“Although I am passionate about birds and enjoy the cool sea breeze, I wanted to challenge myself to go beyond my comfort level and explore a completely new side of field work.”

“While out here I can confidently say that I am a sea bird person through and through. Something about missing the birds and sea has helped me realize that I have, in fact, worked towards a future I am excited for and am greatly looking forward to”.

 

The dream is a future working in marine science. And the next step will be Svalbard in the autumn of 2024. 

“I have been accepted to complete an Arctic Marine Molecular Ecology course in Svalbard through UNIS during the autumn of 2024. So as soon as I am done being landlocked, I will be abruptly thrust into a polar region surrounded by ocean. I am excited to get more hands-on experience in ecology that affects seabird populations and for this experience to help me see my project through a larger scope (pun intended)”, Tatiana says.

Could you see your future working in science?

“Very much so. I hope to continue working with seabirds in the field and in the lab.

One of my future goals is to work in the Antarctic or sub-Antarctic region studying penguin colonies.”

Tatiana Klein is a master’s student at the University of Helsinki studying in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program. In 2024, she was awarded the J.A. Palmén Memorial Foundation Graduate Scholarship. The Memorial Foundation manages the funds donated to commemorate the 70th birthday of J.A. Palmén (1845-1919), the founder of the Tvärminne Zoological Station.