About

I'm an avian ecologist and conservation biologist. Currently I work as an ornithologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), alongside the many wildlife biologists in the Population and Community Ecology Laboratory (PaCE Lab). We are housed under the umbrella of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

When I'm not in the lab or out capturing birds, you can find me in our garden fighting off mint plants or curled up in my hammock reading.

I work at the intersection of modeling, conservation genomics, and ecology. My research integrates spatial, temporal, and behavioral data to understand pressures faced by migratory birds throughout their annual cycle, and how resource pulses like mast seeding impact bird populations. I focus primarily on species using wetlands and open woodlands.

My collaborators include researchers at Audubon Great Lakes, the National Audubon Society, and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

I love forming collaborations, and periodically hire technicians to help with fieldwork and labwork and mentor volunteers. 

Technicians and volunteers have the opportunity to learn multi-species point count, mist-netting, nest searching, working in wetlands, taking blood samples from birds, mast seeding surveys, eDNA field and lab techniques, programming in R, and scientific writing. 

If you would like to collaborate, volunteer, or be considered for a field technician position, please email me at rahlin1 [at] illinois [dot] edu.

If you need a recommendation letter from me please send me a note and fill out this form.