Jane Ebert Haakonsson

PhD Title: Evaluating the conservation needs of Cayman’s critically endangered Amazon parrots.

This project aims to build vital capacity for applied conservation genetics in the Cayman Islands. It will evaluate the conservation needs of the Cayman Island’s National birds; Amazona leucocephala caymanensis and Amazona leucocephala hesterna, through investigation of population genetic diversity, effective population size, and the assessment of threats and population recovery. 

Non-invasive sampling paired with genomics will be used to evaluate potential impact of inbreeding depression, assessing genetic health, and, given the current high levels of threat, including habitat loss, making predictions on future population viability for both parrot subspecies in the Cayman Islands.  

In Jane's job as a Research Officer with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment, Jane is fortunate to work with terrestrial fauna and flora at large. This role brings many challenges but therefore also opportunities to implement and facilitate applied science and effective conservation strategies.

In particular, Jane's interests surround the registration of captive parrots (implemented in 2019), the continued confiscation of illegally kept (poached) parrots, as well as the successful implementation of human/parrot conflict mitigation strategies.

Questions in regards to our parrot populations, their overall resilience and taxonomic structure are of something Jane is hoping to shed light on through this degree.  

Supervised by Professor Jim Groombridge and Dr Marta Farré Belmonte.

• IUCN SSC Wild Parrot Specialist Group
• IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group
• BirdsCaribbean Seabird Working Group