Nikolay Yordanov | Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

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Ecosystem Research, Environmental Risk Assessment and Conservation Biology

Community Ecology and Conservation Biology

Nikolay Yordanov 
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS 
Department of Ecosystem Research, Environmental Risk and Conservation Biology 
2, Gagarin Street 
1113 Sofia 
Bulgaria 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:nikolay.yordanov@iber.bas.bg">nikolay.yordanov@iber.bas.bg</a><b…;
E-mail: <a href="mailto:ecopraxis.yordanov@gmail.com">ecopraxis.yordanov@gmail.com</a><b…;
<a href="https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0959-1959" target="_blank">https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0959-1959</a>

Education: 
- 2024 – present: PhD Candidate in Ecology and Conservation of Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS; dissertation topic: Impact of wind farms on habitat use by model bird species (Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Pavel Zehtindjiev, Prof. Dr. Valko Biserkov) 
- 2024: MSc in Environmental Protection, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" 
- 2022: BSc in Public Administration, Academy of the Ministry of Interior 
 
Specialized Training & Professional Courses: 
- 2026: MoveApps Biologging Training School & Annual Meeting, COST Action EUFLYNET (CA22117), Vienna, Austria (High-resolution trajectory segmentation, biologging workflows, and Movebank platform) 
- 2025: Ecology of Animal Migration (NBI010F, 5.0 ECTS credits, Third Cycle / PhD Level), Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Lund University, Sweden 
- 2025: Analytical Training: Statistics and Modelling in R (ANOVA, Linear Models, GLS, GLM), COST Action EUFLYNET (CA22117), University of Milan, Italy 
- 2024: Biological Monitoring and/or Monitoring of Biological Diversity (20 credits), Training Centre – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 
- 2022: Professional Training Certifications in Multimedia, Computer Graphics & UI/UX Design, Software University (SoftUni): UI Design, UX Design, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects 
 
Employment & Professional Experience: 
- 2024 – present: PhD Researcher, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS 
- 2021 – present: GIS, Computer Vision & Wildlife Monitoring Specialist / Project Manager, EcoPraxis Ltd. (engineering embedded Edge AI pipelines, training custom deep learning models, and deploying real-time automated PTZ tracking systems for soaring birds in operational wind energy facilities) 
 
Recent Projects: 
- 2024 – 2027: Impact of wind farms on habitat use by model bird species (PhD research project, IBER-BAS) 
- 2026 – 2030: Genetics of long-distance migration (ERC Grant ID: 101199137), Department of Biology, Lund University (<a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101199137" target="_blank">cordis.europa.eu</a> / <a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/en/projects/genetics-of-long-distance-mig…; target="_blank">portal.research.lu.se</a>) – Unravelling the genetic architecture, regulatory mechanisms, and evolutionary dynamics of long-distance bird migration using whole-genome sequencing and cross-breeding experiments. 
- 2024 – present: RISKY – Wildlife Mortality from Energy and Transport Infrastructure (03-55-RISKY), funded by OSCARS under the European Commission's Horizon Europe Programme (<a href="https://www.risky.pt/" target="_blank">www.risky.pt</a>) 
- 2024 – present: COST Action CA22117 EUFLYNET (European Flyway Network) – Working Group 3 
- 2020 – present: Automated computer vision tracking, camera surveillance, and bird strike prevention systems at operational wind parks (Kaliakra region, NE Bulgaria)

- Computer Vision & Edge AI in Wildlife Conservation: Training custom deep learning object detection models (YOLO), edge deployment on embedded systems, and real-time automated PTZ camera tracking of soaring birds in operational wind farms 
- Movement Ecology & Biologging: High-resolution GPS/GSM telemetry data analysis, 3D flight trajectory modeling, flight behavior, and stopover/foraging habitat segmentation 
- Renewable Energy Interactions & Avian Safety: Cumulative effect quantification, collision risk assessment, and Monte-Carlo simulation modeling of avian interactions with wind turbines 
- GIS Spatial Modeling & Remote Sensing: Spatial analysis in QGIS, satellite earth observation (Copernicus Sentinel-2), and multi-temporal vegetation indices (NDVI) for ecological niche and land-use assessment

Soares, F. C., et al. (Accepted / In Press) Global Wind Farm Collision Data: a dataset on bird and bat mortality caused by collisions with wind turbines. Project RISKY (Horizon Europe / OSCARS). Figshare dataset: <a href="https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32113513" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32113513</a> 
 
Yordanov, N., Zehtindjiev, P., Whitfield, D.P. (2026) Long-Term Decline in Bird Collisions at Operational Wind Farms: Evidence from Systematic Monitoring to Support Sustainable Wind Energy Development (2010–2024). Sustainability, 18(2), 992. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su18020992" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390/su18020992</a> 
 
Yordanov, N., Nabielek, H., Bedev, K., Zehtindjiev, P. (2025) Bird Survival in Wind Farms by Monte-Carlo Simulation Modelling Based on Wide-Ranging Flight Tracking Data of Multiple Birds During Different Seasons. Birds, 6(3), 50. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030050" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6030050</a> 
 
Zehtindjiev, P., Biserkov, V., Biserkov, Y., Yordanov, N. (2024) Cumulative Effect Quantification of the Spatial Interaction Between Wind Turbines and Birds: A Case Study of Adult White Storks at Eastern Flyway. Modern Civil Engineering, 4(2), 37–48. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15341/mce(2470-4180)/01–02.04.2024/004" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.15341/mce(2470-4180)/01–02.04.2024/004</a>