Nathan W. Cooper

Nathan Cooper is a behavioral ecologist and conservation biologist. He studies how migratory birds interact with each other and their environments throughout the annual cycle. His research integrates natural history observations with new technology, quantitative tools, and large-scale field experiments to advance the fundamental understanding of ecology and provide resource managers with the information needed to conserve migratory birds.

Cooper is primarily focused on the ecology and conservation of the Kirtland's warbler. He is currently involved in several science- and conservation-based projects with this recently delisted species. Cooper is broadly interested in better understanding each period of the Kirtland's warbler full annual cycle (i.e., wintering, breeding, migration, post-breeding) and how they are linked through seasonal interactions.

By collecting data across the whole annual cycle, his research is quickly moving toward developing a full annual cycle integrated population model, which can be used to better understand year-round population dynamics in Kirtland's warblers and other migratory songbirds. Cooper also has recently taken a leadership role on the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team.