Thomas Naef

My research journey has taken me from excavation assistance at paleontological sites in Switzerland, to applied corncrake conservation for BirdLife Switzerland, to quantifying cichlid fish coloration in Africa for my Master's at University of Basel, to ongoing bat conservation research in Germany for my Ph.D. and involvement in Northern Elephant Seal thermoregulation research at UC Berkeley.

In this process I have built up end-to-end expertise in non-invasive monitoring ranging from genetic capture-mark-recapture to automated video and acoustic monitoring as well as scientific photography.

The observational nature of many of my research endeavors also have given me a keen eye for potential analytical flaws in observational studies. I leverage this skill together with my statistical and programming expertise in R and python to consult and contribute to many research projects ranging from undergraduate to post-doctoral levels.

My interests do not lie within a specific taxon or group but rather with the fascinating questions that drive conservation-relevant research