On the 8th of May, when exactly 300 terns had been registered at the colony, Justine Bertram successfully defended her PhD thesis amidst them. As throughout her time with the terns and at the institute, she did a brilliant job. We could not be more proud that she is fledging now. Justine's thesis, titled 'Causes and consequences of mercury contamination in a long-lived seabird' contains five data chapters, of which four have been published, while the fifth is currently being revised. If you'd like to read more about her work, you can find a description of the project, and an up-to-date list of publications here.