Curriculum vitae

Andrew J. Fairbairn

Dr. rer. nat. · Ecologist & founder
Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence · Nature Integrity · AF Labs · RARElab

Research interests

  • Automated monitoring
  • Bioacoustics
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Endangered & lost species
  • Ornithology
  • Urban ecology
  • Applied machine learning

Experience

Professional experience

2026 – present

Postdoctoral Researcher

Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence

Blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) recovery project, Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia, with Loro Parque Fundación

2024 – present

Founder & Managing Director

RARElab Science & Conservation gUG (i. Gr.)

2026 – present

Founder

AF Labs (independent software and AI studio)

2020 – present

Independent IT / data consultant

Freelance

2025

Postdoctoral Researcher

Technical University of Munich

April – September 2025

2022 – 2025

Research Assistant

Research Training Group “Urban Green Infrastructure”, TUM

2021 – 2022

Research Assistant

“Animal-Aided Design”, TUM

2017 – 2019

Senior Ornithologist / Assistant Site Manager

Operation Wallacea, Dominica

Ornithologist (2017), Senior Ornithologist (2018), Senior Ornithologist and Assistant Site Manager (2019)

2015

Intern

Verein Jordsand

2009 – 2013

U.S. Army

Infantry

Education

Education

2022 – 2025

Dr. rer. nat. / PhD in Ecology

Technical University of Munich

summa cum laude · Thesis: Unravelling patterns and drivers of biodiversity for informed urban conservation and planning.

2019 – 2020

B.Sc. Information Technology

American Military University

Concentration: Programming · summa cum laude

2015 – 2016

M.Sc. Conservation and Biodiversity

University of Exeter

2011 – 2015

B.Sc. Environmental Science

American Military University

Teaching

Teaching

TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich

2023 Winter

Co-supervisor

Engineering Ecology Project

2023 Winter

Co-lecturer

Introduction to Ecology

2023 Summer

Co-supervisor

Urban Ecology Project

2023 Summer

Guest lecturer

Advanced Concepts in Urban Ecosystems

2022 Winter

Guest lecturer

Functional Diversity of Animals

2022 Summer

Excursion leader

Bird Biodiversity, Functional Diversity of Animals

2022 Summer

Co-supervisor

Urban Ecology Project

2021 Summer

Co-supervisor

Urban Ecology Project

Field expedition, Dominica, Operation Wallacea

2019 Summer

Instructor

Field ornithological methods

2018 Summer

Instructor

Field ornithological methods

2017 Summer

Instructor

Field ornithological methods

Mentorships

Supervised theses

2025

Master’s thesis · Antonia Haberer

The influence of urban building typologies on bird diversity in Munich

2025

Master’s thesis · Rachel Schiebel

Effects of vegetation cover and vegetation composition on bird diversity and abundance across Munich

2025

Master’s thesis · Lara Daniela

Effects of size and proximity of water sources on species richness and composition of local bird populations in the city of Munich

2024

Master’s thesis · Josija-Simoen Burmeister

By-species classification performance of BirdNET: effects of bird morphology, acoustic traits, and habitat

2023

Bachelor’s thesis · Sophia D. Katholnigg

The effects of greenness on bird diversity in Munich

2023

Bachelor’s thesis · Andreas Winkler

Effects of using different recording units for ecological research

2023

Research internship · Louis Schroll

Greenness enhances urban bird diversity and abundance: an insight from an acoustic survey

2022 – 2023

Master’s thesis · Xiaoxue Sun

Effects of substrate depth and habitat elements on arthropods on green roofs

Presentations

Conference presentations

2024 · Poster

Urban biodiversity is affected by human-designed features of public squares

BES Annual Meeting, Liverpool, UK

2024 · Oral

NDVI and vegetation volume as proxies for urban bird diversity

53rd GfÖ Annual Meeting, Freising, Germany

2024 · Poster

Evaluating the performance of BirdNET for acoustic surveys in urban environments

IGSSE Forum, Raitenhaslach, Germany

2023 · Oral

Enhancing bird surveys: evaluating acoustic monitoring and BirdNET for monitoring urban bird diversity

52nd GfÖ Annual Meeting, Leipzig, Germany

2023 · Poster

Urban green spaces as hotspots for biodiversity

IGSSE Forum, Raitenhaslach, Germany

2022 · Oral

The effects of design features on biodiversity in urban squares

SFE GfÖ EEG Joint Meeting, Metz, France

Appointments

Appointments and memberships

2023 – 2024

Deputy Speaker of Doctoral Researchers

TUM International Graduate School for Science and Engineering

2021 – 2024

Board member

Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz in Bayern e.V., Kreisgruppe Fürth

Professional memberships

  • Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GfÖ)
  • European Ornithologists’ Union

Media appearances

2022

Bayerischer Rundfunk

WG mit Wildtier: Neues Bauen in der Stadt

Fieldwork

Bird ringing

I have been ringing birds since before my master’s at the University of Exeter, where I ringed Irish light-bellied brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) in Ireland and Iceland, and collected blood and feather samples to determine sex and look at carry-over effects from disturbance on the overwintering grounds. I trained and gained my credentials through the British Trust for Ornithology. Since 2021 I have run a ringing programme for the Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz in Fürth, Bavaria, ringing around 200 to 300 birds a year, much of it monitoring breeding populations through nest boxes. I am licensed to ring at open nests, nest boxes and mist nets for all species in my permit area.

Publications

Publications

Peer-reviewed

  1. Fairbairn A.J. (2026) Beyond species richness in urban bird acoustic monitoring. Nature Cities 3:107–108. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-026-00391-6
  2. Egerer M.; Annighöfer P.; Arzberger S.; … Fairbairn A.J.; … Pauleit S. (2025) Social-ecological relationships on biodiverse and health-promoting city soundscapes. Basic and Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.12.007
  3. Fairbairn A.J.; Burmeister J-S.; Weisser W.W.; Meyer S.T. (2025) BirdNET can be as good as experts for acoustic bird monitoring in a European city. PLOS ONE 20:e0330836. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330836
  4. Dornelas M.; Antão L.H.; Bates A.E.; … Fairbairn A.J.; … Magurran A.E. (2025) BioTIME 2.0: Expanding and Improving a Database of Biodiversity Time Series. Global Ecology and Biogeography 34:e70003. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70003
  5. Fairbairn A.J.; Katholnigg S.; Leichtle T.; et al. (2025) NDVI and vegetation volume as predictors of urban bird diversity. Scientific Reports 15:12863. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96098-0
  6. Arzberger S.; Fairbairn A.; Hemauer M.; Mühlbauer M.; Weissmann J.; Egerer M. (2025) The potential of soundscapes as an ecosystem monitoring tool for urban biodiversity. Journal of Urban Ecology 11(1):juaf002. https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaf002
  7. Fairbairn A.J.*; Meyer S.T.*; Mühlbauer M.; et al. (2024) Urban biodiversity is affected by human-designed features of public squares. Nature Cities 1(10). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-024-00126-5
  8. Micklewright J.; Poor M.B.; Fakirova E.; Fairbairn A.J.; et al. (2024) Urban Green Infrastructure for Resilient Urban Transformations: A System Dynamics Modelling Approach for Streets as Multifunctional Spaces. In: PLEA 2024: (Re)thinking Resilience. Politechnika Wrocławska, Oficyna Wydawnicza. https://doi.org/10.37190/PLEA_2024
  9. Grabowski Z.; Fairbairn A.J.; Teixeira L.H.; et al. (2023) Cosmopolitan conservation: the multi-scalar contributions of urban green infrastructure to biodiversity protection. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02614-x
  10. Martin T.E.; Bennett G.C.; Fairbairn A.; Mooers A.O. (2023) Towards a standardized framework for managing lost species. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12865
  11. Fairbairn A.; Thornhill I.; Martin T.E.; Hayward R.; Ive R.; Hammond J.; et al. (2022) The short-term impacts of Hurricane Maria on the forest birds of Dominica. Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 35:70–82. https://doi.org/10.55431/jco.2022.35.70-82
  12. Martin T.E.; Bennett G.C.; Fairbairn A.; Mooers A.O. (2022) ‘Lost’ taxa and their conservation implications. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12788

* Equal contribution.

Other (non-peer-reviewed)

  1. Pauleit S.; Alim I.; Baghaie Poor M.; Banihashemi F.; Berger N.; Egerer M.; Fairbairn A.J.; et al. (2024) Results Brochure of the Research Training Group Urban Green Infrastructure. Chair for Strategic Landscape Planning and Management. https://doi.org/10.14459/2024MD1742953
  2. Hauck T.; Weisser W.; Mühlbauer M.; Bischer R.; Meyer S.; Fairbairn A.; et al. (2023) Animal-Aided Design in der Brantstraße. Detaillierte und technische Beschreibung der Maßnahmen für Tiere.