Allison Poe Costello

Bat Ecologist

Allison Poe Costello is an ecologist at Pandion with six years of experience in wildlife field studies, including birds, bats, gopher tortoises, and sea turtles. She holds a master’s degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario, where she specialized in bat bioacoustics related to foraging habitat composition.

Bats and Wind Energy

At Pandion, Allison is performing site assessments and deploying bat acoustic monitoring systems to wind energy sites in the U.S. and Canada. She recently performed bat acoustic monitoring at wind resource areas in Ontario, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, and Colorado, where she assessed bat use and rate of passage to determine the vulnerability of local bat populations to the presence of wind turbines.

Wildlife Studies

Allison has assisted with several gopher tortoise relocation projects in Florida.

Prior to joining Pandion, Allison worked on several wildlife field studies, including the Hawaiian hoary bat monitoring program and the hawksbill turtle recovery program for the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Park Service in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Allison also worked with the University of Kentucky performing nest searches, territory mapping, and vegetation surveys for Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. While working with Bat Conservation International, she conducted wildlife surveys investigating bird and bat presence and mortality at wind energy facilities.

When Not at Work

Allison’s other interests include hiking, camping, biking, running, swimming, endurance racing, whitewater rafting, traveling, and hanging out with her dog.