Director of Shorebird Program; International Bird Mercury Lead; Toxicology Lab Manager
kevin.regan@briwildlife.org
207-839-7600 x107

Kevin joined BRI in 2009 and began working primarily as an avian biologist and manager of BRI’s Toxicology Lab. His research experience with BRI has included contaminant sampling, surveys, and tracking studies of a broad range of avian taxa, mammals, fish, and invertebrates.

Kevin currently serves as BRI’s Shorebird Program Director, International Bird Mercury Lead, and Toxicology Lab Co-Manager. His current projects include studying habitat use, contaminant exposure, and migratory connectivity of Upland Sandpipers; migratory connectivity and life history timing of Eastern Willets; surveys of migrant shorebirds; migration tracking of Red Knots; offshore surveys of marine birds; and international mercury sampling of wetland birds.

• M.S., Biology, University of Southern Maine, 2010
• B.S., Biology, Eastern Connecticut State University, 2006

• Migratory connectivity and habitat use of migrant shorebirds

• Mercury exposure in birds associated with Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

• Effects of sea level rise on coastal breeding avian communities

• Stopover feeding and roosting behavior in shorebirds

• Effects of contaminants on freshwater and marine wetland ecosystems

• Effects of habitat phenology on life history timing of migratory species

• Mercury exposure in shorebirds throughout their annual cycle

Smith, J. A. M., K. Regan, N. W. Cooper, L. Johnson, E. Olson, A. Green, J. Tash, D. C. Evers, & P. P. Marra. 2020. A green wave of saltmarsh productivity predicts the timing of the annual cycle in a long-distance migratory shorebird. Scientific Reports 10: 20658. Available at http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-77784-7.

Allison E Huysman, Nathan W Cooper, Joseph A Smith, Susan M Haig, Susan A Heath, Luanne Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, Kevin Regan, Jennifer K Wilson, Peter P Marra, Ornithological Applications, Volume 124, Issue 3, 2 August 2022, duac015. Strong migratory connectivity indicates Willets need subspecies-specific conservation strategies. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duac015

Perkins, M., L. Ferguson, R. B. Lanctot, I. J. Stenhouse, S. Kendall, S. Brown, H. R. Gates, J. O. Hall, K. Regan, & D. C. Evers. 2016. Mercury exposure and risk in breeding and staging Alaskan shorebirds. The Condor 118: 571-582. Available at https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/118/3/571-582/5153251.pdf

Evers DC, Savoy L, DeSorbo C, Regan K, Persico C, Sayers CJ II. 2021. Bird field sampling methods: collection of tissues for mercury analysis. Report BRI 2021-03, Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, Maine, USA.

David C. Evers, Joel A. Schmutz, Niladri Basu, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Jeff Fair, Carrie E. Gray, James D. Paruk, Marie Perkins, Kevin Regan, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Kenneth G. Wright . Historic and Contemporary Mercury Exposure and Potential Risk to Yellow-Billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) Breeding in Alaska and Canada, 37(sp1):147-159 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1675/063.037.sp117

Lane, O., E. M. Adams, N. Pau, K. M. O’Brien, K. Regan, M. Farina, T. Schneider-Moran, & J. Zarudsky. 2020. Long-term monitoring of mercury in adult saltmarsh sparrows breeding in Maine, Massachusetts and New York, USA 2000–2017. Ecotoxicology 29: 1148-1160. Available at http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10646-020-02180-w.

Buck, D. G., D. C. Evers, E. Adams, J. DiGangi, B. Beeler, J. Samánek, J. Petrlik, M. A. Turnquist, O. Speranskaya, K. Regan, & S. Johnson. 2019. A global-scale assessment of fish mercury concentrations and the identification of biological hotspots. Science of The Total Environment 687: 956-966. Available at https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969719327305.

Adams, E. M., A. K. Sauer, O. Lane, K. Regan, & D. C. Evers. 2019. The effects of climate, habitat, and trophic position on methylmercury bioavailability for breeding New York songbirds. Ecotoxicology. pdf

Stenhouse, I. J., E. M. Adams, J. L. Goyette, K. J. Regan, M. W. Goodale, & D. C. Evers. 2018. Changes in mercury exposure of marine birds breeding in the Gulf of Maine, 2008–2013. Marine Pollution Bulletin 128: 156-161. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.025.

DeSorbo, C. R., N. M. Burgess, C. S. Todd, D. C. Evers, R. A. Bodaly, B. H. Massey, S. E. Mierzykowski, C. P. Persico, R. B. Gray, W. E. Hanson, D. E. Meattey, & K. J. Regan. 2018. Mercury concentrations in bald eagles across an impacted watershed in Maine, USA. Science of the Total Environment 627: 1515-1527. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.023.

Trasande, L., J. DiGangi, D. C. Evers, J. Petrlik, D. G. Buck, J. Šamánek, B. Beeler, M. A. Turnquist, & K. Regan. 2016. Economic implications of mercury exposure in the context of the global mercury treaty: Hair mercury levels and estimated lost economic productivity in selected developing countries. Journal of Environmental Management 183: 229-235. Available at https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301479716306028.

Rave, D. P., M. C. Zicus, J. R. Fieberg, L. Savoy, & K. Regan. 2014. Trends in eggshell thickness and mercury in common goldeneye and hooded merganser eggs. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38: 9-13. Available at http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/wsb.355.

Meattey, D. E., L. Savoy, J. Beuth, N. Pau, K. O’Brien, J. Osenkowski, K. Regan, B. Lasorsa, & I. Johnson. 2014. Elevated mercury levels in a wintering population of common eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) in the northeastern United States. Marine Pollution Bulletin 86: 229-237. Available at https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025326X14004512.

Regan, K., D. Meattey. 2022 Report of Red Knot and Roseate Tern Surveys at the Naval and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Atlantic Detachment Cutler, Cutler Maine. Submitted to Ian Trefry, Natural Resource Manager, NAVFAC PWD-ME, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH 03804. Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, Maine. 16 pp.

Regan, K., D. Meattey. 2020 High-Elevation Bird Survey at Survival, Evasion, Resistance, & Escape (SERE) School, Redington, Maine. BRI Report # 2018-11. Submitted to Ian Trefry, Natural Resource Manager, NAVFAC PWD-ME, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH 03804. Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, Maine. 13 pp.

Gray, C. E., R. Gray, M. Kneeland, & K. Regan. 2017. Contaminants in Massachusetts ’ Breeding Common Loon Population: 2016 Summary Report. Report # 2017-04. Portland, ME. pdf

Evers, D. C., J. DiGangi, J. Petrlik, D. G. Buck, J. Samanek, B. Beeler, M. A. Turnquist, S. K. Hatch, & K. Regan. 2014. Global Mercury Hotspots: New Evidence Reveals Mercury Contamination Regularly Exceeds Health Advisory Levels in Humans and Fish Worldwide. Biodiversity Research Institute- IPEN, BRI-IPEN 2014-34. Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, ME. IPEN, Goteborg, Switzerland. 20 pp. Available at https://briwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cover_MercuryHotspots_235pxw.jpg. pdf

Rinker, H. B., O. P. Lane, D. Meattey, & K. Regan. 2013. Limpia Guerrero 2013: A Pilot Study of Environmental Contaminants in México. Report No. 2013-38. Biodiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME. 54 pp. pdf

Evers, D. C., J. DiGangi, J. Petrlik, D. G. Buck, J. Samanek, B. Beeler, M. A. Turnquist, S. K. Hatch, & K. Regan. 2014. Global Mercury Hotspots: New Evidence Reveals Mercury Contamination Regularly Exceeds Health Advisory Levels in Humans and Fish Worldwide. Biodiversity Research Institute- IPEN, BRI-IPEN 2014-34. Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, ME. IPEN, Goteborg, Switzerland. 20 pp. Available at https://briwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cover_MercuryHotspots_235pxw.jpg.