Joanna Białas

Assistant Professor

Poznan University of Life Sciences

Department of Zoology

Wojska Polskiego 71C Poland 60-625 Poznan

Joanna Białas is a researcher at the Department of Zoology at Poznan University of Life Scienes, Poland. Her work focuses on the ecology and behaviour of birds, with a particular interest in how environmental conditions shape reproductive success, and life-history strategies.

She works extensively with long-term monitoring data on White Storks, combining field observations with advanced statistical modelling and spatial analyses to understand how habitat quality, food availability and human-altered landscapes influence bird populations.

Earlier in her research, Joanna also studied other farmland bird species such as the Red-backed Shrike, focusing on questions in behavioural ecology. Her research interests extend beyond Europe and have also included African bird species, reflecting a broader interest in ecological processes and behaviors across different ecosystems.

She is particularly fascinated by how populations function when individuals differ strongly in their behaviour, strategies and responses to environmental conditions, and by the quantitative methods and analytical approaches used to detect, measure and interpret such variation.

Her interest in flyway research focuses on changes in the migratory behaviour of White Storks. In many European populations, migration distances have shortened over recent decades, largely due to human activities. The increasing availability of anthropogenic food sources—especially organic waste at landfills—has significantly altered migration strategies, wintering behaviour and population dynamics in this iconic migratory species.

More broadly, Joanna is interested in biodiversity patterns, conservation challenges, habitat selection, and the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change, not only in birds but also across other taxa.

Within EUFLYNET, Joanna coordinates communication activities and is the person to contact if you would like to share project updates, achievements or stories with the wider community. She is also actively involved in the activities of Working Group 3, contributing to collaboration and knowledge exchange within the network.