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Evans, Brian

Evans, Brian

Migratory Bird Ecologist

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Evans, Brian

Migratory Bird Ecologist

Brian Evans is a quantitative ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center (SMBC), which studies and educates the public on the ecology of migratory birds. Evans’ research interests are focused on quantifying the influence of urbanization on bird populations and communities and evaluating how to effectively engage the public in the ecology and conservation of urban systems.

Evans' projects include:

  • Assisting in the development of a curriculum on the use of tracking data in the study of avian migration
  • Quantifying the influence of urbanization on the community and population ecology of migratory and resident birds
  • Studying the movement and dispersal of resident and migrant birds in urban environments
  • Developing and implementing a year-round educational banding station at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

Positions

Geographic Focus

Background And Education

Education And Training

Public Biography

  • Brian Evans is a quantitative ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center (SMBC), which studies and educates the public on the ecology of migratory birds. Evans’ research interests are focused on quantifying the influence of urbanization on bird populations and communities and evaluating how to effectively engage the public in the ecology and conservation of urban systems.

    Evans' projects include:

    • Assisting in the development of a curriculum on the use of tracking data in the study of avian migration
    • Quantifying the influence of urbanization on the community and population ecology of migratory and resident birds
    • Studying the movement and dispersal of resident and migrant birds in urban environments
    • Developing and implementing a year-round educational banding station at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
    Brian’s research has led to a deeper understanding of the population ecology of resident and migrant birds across a gradient of human land-use intensity. As a computer programmer specializing in data wrangling and spatial analysis, he contributes to a variety of SMBC projects and provides training to colleagues. As an educator, Brian has developed a banding demonstration program at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, helps facilitate SMBC citizen science and education projects, and teaches graduate-level courses on data science, Program R, and avian ecology.

    Evans received an Associate of Science degree from Asheville-Buncombe Community College in 2003 and a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2006. Evans began working with SMBC as a field technician in 2007, after working for a number of years across a variety of systems (e.g., salamanders, benthic macroinvertebrates). He completed his doctoral dissertation research at SMBC and received his Ph.D. in quantitative ecology from the UNC-Chapel Hill in 2015.

    Brian grew up turning over logs, watching lightning storms and exploring the abandoned mills and woods around his boyhood home. His early excitement for nature led him to a deep passion for ecology. This passion guides his search to understand how humans shape ecosystems and how we might best share our knowledge to foster positive conservation outcomes.

Research And Grants

Investigator On

Publications

Selected Publications

Activities

Teaching Overview

  • Brian teaches professional and graduate courses at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation with a focus on data science, geographic information systems (GIS), and avian ecology.

Teaching Activities

Contact

Location

Mailing Address

  • 8404 Garland Ave

    Takoma Park, MD  20912

    United States

Mailing Address

  • 3001 Connecticut Ave NW MRC 5503 Washington, DC 20008

Shipping Address

  • 3001 Connecticut Ave NW MRC 5503 Washington, DC 20008