Jessie Berndt
Jessie Berndt John Day Building: 1.02 Email: jessie.a.berndt@gmail.com |
Growing up in Knysna, South Africa, Jessie’s interest in birding as a 6 year-old was kindled by a mother who organised frequent trips to an old airfield to study wetland birds. The obsession with birding died out with a move to Cape Town half way through high school, only to be reignited by a third year biology course at the University of Cape Town. With her new found passion for birds, she graduated from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) in 2012 with a BSc (Hons) in Botany and Ecology.
It was her determination to study birds that lead her to her Honours thesis investigating the relationship between Erica species and their avian pollinators the Orange-breasted and Southern Double-collared sunbirds.
During a trip to the Richtersveld and Namibia, Jessie observed a mystical creature which captured her attention immediately, It was during an hour spent watching the Martial Eagle that she knew she would study this great predator. This passion and drive lead her to the front door step of Dr Andrew Jenkins. Andrew, together with Jessie, subsequently developed a project focused on the globally red-listed Martial Eagle.
Thesis
Conservation biology of the Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus in South Africa: protected area dependent or ranch-land colonist? (Supervisors: Dr Andrew Jenkins, Dr Res Altwegg and Dr. Arjun Amar).