Leena Riekkola, PhD

What’s the work that you do?

I use satellite tracking, quantitative analyses, and modelling to understand where animals are in space and time, and what factors drive their movement and behaviour. Through my work I provide critical information to conservation and government agencies, allowing them to make well-informed decisions around reducing human impacts on animal populations. My new project focuses on the movements of southern right whales across the Southern Ocean. I aim to identify key feeding habitats in the vast yet poorly understood Southern Ocean, to discover how these habitats have changed over time and how they might shift in the future.

What keeps you going?

In this line of work there is always something to discover, some problem to solve, and something new to learn. Every day is different, and sometimes also a challenge, but my curiosity and passion for discovering new things keep me going. I’ve also been very fortunate to have worked with the most wonderful and passionate people who have really made research enjoyable, and without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. Also, the occasions when I get to escape the office and travel to amazing places such as Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic for fieldwork are the highlights of my year!

What’s your message to the world?

Be kind to yourself, to others, and the planet that we share. The best each of us can do is to do our best. But we’re all in trouble if we can’t see further than our own noses. Instead, the world would be an amazing place if everyone followed the guidance of the Greek Proverb “a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit”.