Visiting Researcher (2025-present)

I am an ecologist studying how environmental change shapes animal movement and ecosystem dynamics. In the Norris Lab, I work with geolocator data from Blackpoll Warblers to link individual migration timing and routes with large-scale patterns in climate and vegetation green-up to understand how they interact. By combining tracking, phenology metrics, and climate reanalysis data, I aim to identify when migrants encounter favourable “windows” for movement and how these may shift under climate change. I completed my PhD at Tel Aviv University, where I used ground-truth vegetation measurements, UAV imagery, and satellite remote sensing to study climate impacts on forage quantity and quality in Mediterranean rangelands.

Publications

Adar, S., Sternberg, M. (in press). Evaluating microclimatic alterations under rainout shelters: intended and unintended effects of drought manipulations. Ecological Applications.

Adar, S., Paz-Kagan, T., Argaman, E., Dubinin, M.V., & Sternberg, M. (2024). Identifying climatic drivers of forage quantity and quality in Mediterranean rangelands using remote sensing. Science of the Total Environment, 957, 177797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177797

Adar, S., Sternberg, M., Argaman, E., Henkin, Z., Dovrat, G., Zaady, E., & Paz-Kagan, T. (2023). Testing a novel pasture quality index using remote sensing tools in semiarid and Mediterranean grasslands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 357, 108674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108674

Adar, S., Sternberg, M., Paz-Kagan, T., Henkin, Z., Dovrat, G., Zaady, E., & Argaman, E. (2022). Estimation of aboveground biomass production using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and VENµS satellite imagery in Mediterranean and semiarid rangelands. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 26, 100753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2022.100753

Adar, S., Dor, R. (2018). Mother doesn’t always know best: maternal wormlion choice of oviposition habitat does not match larval habitat choice. Behavioural Processes, 147, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.002

Adar, S., Scharf, I., & Dor, R. (2016). The effect of previous experience on trap construction and movement distance in a pit-building predator. The Science of Nature, 103(9), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-016-1405-9

Adar, S., Dor, R., & Scharf, I. (2016). Habitat choice and complex decision making in a trap-building predator. Behavioral Ecology, 27(5), 1491–1498. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arw071