Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Staff Member


Edwin Njuguna

PhD
Email: edwin.njuguna@maine.edu

Biography

I grew up in Nairobi, Kenya where I have lived, gone to school, and worked for most of my life. I began working on birds after my undergraduate studies. This was my motivation to take up a conservation biology focus, working to protect threatened habitats and birds and to train upcoming birders and bird guides on bird conservation. I love birdwatching, bird banding, playing soccer, cooking, and being outdoors.
Current Research: I have an interest in landscape ecology with a special interest in ecosystem services provisioning by birds. I hope to develop a biotic index that can be used to assess ecosystem health using citizen science bird data. Specifically, I seek to develop an avian biological condition gradient (ABCG) assessment tool for the Upper Tana River Watershed in Kenya, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the National Museums of Kenya, using citizen science data from the Kenya bird Map project (KBM) that has been in existence for the last 10 years.

Project Completion Date
BCG Model for Upper Tana Watershed Kenya December 2026
Presentations Presentation Date
Njuguna, E., C. Murphy, C. Loftin, M. Hunter, D. Courtemanch, S. Horn, and P. Njoroge. 2022. Developing a Biotic Index for the Upper Tana Watershed, Kenya, using Community Science. Annual Meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists, Plymouth, MA, 17-21 October. October 2022
Njuguna, E. Murphy, C.A., Loftin, C., Hunter, M., McGill, B., Courtemanch, D., Njoroge, P. 2024. Bridging community science and standardized bird-based biotic indices to advance watershed monitoring. Presentation to Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. June 2024