About Us
History
The story of KAB Ekoloji began in 2009, when its founder, Kerem Ali Boyla, worked as a biodiversity consultant for the Bahçe (Gökçedağ) Wind Power Plant project, financed by the IFC. The field research team established afterward began carrying out ecological studies for projects such as highways, airports, pipelines, and wind farms. Bat surveys were added to the team’s expertise in 2015, the Istanbul office opened in 2019.
As the workload grew, the team’s need for a more institutional structure became clear, and KAB Ekoloji was formally established as a joint-stock company on 29 April 2021. Its work expanded to include mortality monitoring, turbine curtailment applications, biodiversity assessments, and lender advisory services, while international projects also increased during the same period.
Five years after its founding, an important step was taken toward the company’s institutionalization and professionalization, as Çağrı Tekatlı joined the team as General Manager. While operations were restructured under the new management team, founder Kerem Ali Boyla took on his new role as Chairman of the Board and Scientific Director. Today, KAB Ekoloji delivers biodiversity projects to both local and international clients with a strong team of experienced specialists, scientists, and international project managers.
Today, KAB Ekoloji—with its strong team of experienced specialists, scientists, and international project managers—provides science-based biodiversity consultancy for energy, infrastructure, and development projects carried out in Türkiye and abroad.
Vision, Mission and Values
Our Vision:
To lead the way toward a future in which our activities do not cause biodiversity loss, and instead deliver a nature positive contribution to nature.
Our Mission:
To evaluate the impacts of sustainable development projects on biodiversity through the highest standards and best practices, and to help mitigate these impacts for the sake of biodiversity conservation.
Our Values:
- Prioritizing Nature: We treat nature conservation as a core priority in all our work, ensuring that economic and operational concerns never take precedence over it.
- Evidence-Based: We base our work on scientific data and concrete findings, and we archive our data and findings to contribute to future studies.
- People and Trust: We value the effort, growth, and ideas of our employees and partners, and we build relationships on open communication, transparency, and mutual trust. We approach our work with humility — staying open to learning, questioning, and self-improvement.
- Adaptability: Recognizing that ecology is a constantly evolving field, we continuously refine our working practices and methods to stay current.
- Sustainability: We invest in the long-term resilience of both the natural environment and the people who do this work.
Our Staff
Çağrı Tekatlı General Manager cagri@kabecology.com
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Holding a PhD in Biology, Çağrı brings extensive field experience in flora and fauna surveys and monitoring. He has played a key role in biodiversity management and planning processes, and has led compliance efforts with international financial institution standards across multiple projects. Through his work with leading environmental consulting firms, he has collaborated closely with expert teams and built strong expertise in project coordination and team leadership.
Kerem Ali Boyla Founder and Science Director kerem@kabecology.com
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Kerem Ali Boyla is an ecologist, ornithologist, and conservation specialist with more than 25 years of experience. He graduated from the Biology Department of Middle East Technical University (METU) and completed his MSc in Ecology at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. During his time at BirdLife International, he contributed to the preparation and publication of the Important Bird Areas inventory for South America. Throughout his career, he has worked nationally and internationally on bird and biodiversity conservation, wildlife monitoring systems, and ecological assessments. He began working as an independent ecological consultant in 2009 and founded KAB Ecology in 2021. He specializes particularly in bird and bat studies, mortality monitoring, and ecological risk assessments for wind energy projects. He also coordinated the Breeding Bird Atlas of Türkiye, played a leading role in establishing the eBird Türkiye portal, and has long been actively involved in voluntary conservation initiatives.
Serap Vural Accounting and Finance muhasebe@kabecology.com
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She graduated from Anadolu University, Faculty of Business Administration in 2012. She then began her career at an accounting office. Over time, she worked for 12 years in various positions within the finance department of a group of companies operating across multiple sectors, including home appliances, automotive, and construction. Drawing on her extensive industry knowledge and experience, she joined KAB Ecology in 2021, where she currently oversees and manages all accounting and financial operations of the company.
Maha Salameh Bat Expert maha@kabecology.com
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She completed her MSc in terrestrial ecology and evolution at the University of Bordeaux in 2019, and earned her PhD in Environmental Sciences from Boğaziçi University in 2026, focusing on the evolutionary history and conservation genomics of the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). After joining KAB Ecology as an intern in 2020, she has become a key member of the team. She leads acoustic analyses in bat monitoring studies, implementing monitoring protocols at wind farms, processing and analyzing recordings using industry-standard software, and conducting species identification through molecular analyses in mortality studies. She also holds the BatAbility Certificate in Bat Acoustic Analysis (2022) from the Bat Conservation Trust.
Nartjan Özden Project Coordinator nartjan@kabecology.com
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He graduated from the Biology Department of Hacettepe University and completed his MSc in Ecology at the same university in 2022. During his studies, he worked for seven years as a volunteer in the Functional Ecology Laboratory, contributing to projects on agriculture and livestock practices, human–nature interactions, fire ecology, and steppe ecosystems. He then spent two years at the İzmir Planning Agency working on sustainability and green transition initiatives. Since 2023, he has held various roles in the environmental sector, specializing in projects aligned with international standards such as IFC Performance Standard 6 (PS6). As of 2025, he serves as a Project Manager at KAB Ecology.
Zehra Torun Project Coordinator zehra@kabecology.com
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She graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at Ondokuz Mayıs University in 2021. Since 2016, she has gained strong field experience as a licensed bird ringer at the Cernek Ringing Camp of the OMU Ornithology Research Center. She has built her career around bird and bat monitoring and biodiversity research in wind energy projects. At AİRRES Electricity Generation, she worked as a Biodiversity Specialist, conducting bird surveys and carcass searches and coordinating ESAP implementation. In 2025, she joined KAB Ecology as a Project Coordinator, managing fieldwork, preparing technical reports, and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. She specializes in ecological assessments aligned with IFC standards.
Dilara Arslan Data Scientist data@kabecology.com
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She completed her PhD at Avignon University (France) in 2022. Her doctoral research focused on the comparative biodiversity of bird and reptile communities in agricultural and urban landscapes in the Gediz Delta (İzmir, Turkey). Between 2022 and 2024, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in macroecology at the Community Ecology and Conservation Laboratory of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), where she examined how anthropogenic threats shape the biodiversity of different taxa (amphibians, birds, and reptiles) across broad biogeographical regions. As of 2025, she works as a data analyst at KAB Ecology.
Dilara Akpınar Project Assistant dilara.akpinar86@gmail.com
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She graduated from the Biology Department of Ondokuz Mayıs University in 2014 and obtained her MSc in Forestry Engineering from Istanbul University in 2023. Her master’s thesis focused on nest site selection and nest tree characteristics of woodpeckers in Belgrad Forest. She has volunteered at the Kızılırmak Delta Bird Ringing Station and the METU Ecological Campus Project, and has a particular interest in ecological monitoring using acoustic bird recording devices. Since joining KAB Ecology in 2021, she has been actively involved in data management, digitization, and fieldwork, and prepares technical reports in both Turkish and English.
Cem Akın Field Coordinator cem@kabecology.com
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He began observing and photographing nature, particularly birds, in 2006 at the Filyos Delta in Zonguldak. He has won four awards in nature photography competitions. In 2010, he dedicated much of his time to birdwatching. His birding career began in 2011 with KOSK counts and expanded through his involvement in the Breeding Bird Atlas of Turkey and various conservation and biodiversity projects. In 2020, he was part of the team that implemented the first turbine shutdown protocol at the Kıyıköy wind energy project with KAB Ecology, conducting bird monitoring and mortality surveys. Since joining KAB Ecology in 2025, he has been working primarily on international projects, focusing on bird monitoring, PCFM, acoustic bat studies, and field coordination.
Field Staff
Berkay Akgün Field Surveyor
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He began observing nature in his native Thrace. He started his professional career with a bird mortality monitoring study conducted under a power transmission line at a wind farm in Thrace, while also contributing to vantage point bird surveys during the same period. He continues to develop his expertise in field ecology and has recently joined our team.
Cansu Özcan Bird Surveyor, Biologist
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Cansu Özcan is a biologist experienced in bird monitoring and field research. She has taken part in bird migration studies, breeding bird surveys, and raptor monitoring in wind energy projects and other infrastructure projects. She contributes to biodiversity research through her meticulous approach to fieldwork and her experience in data collection.
Cennet Özdemir Bird Surveyor, Biologist
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She is a graduate of Karadeniz Technical University’s Department of Wildlife Ecology and Management. Following field experience ranging from sea turtle conservation projects to national parks, she has been involved in bird monitoring and mortality studies at wind farms since 2024. At KAB Ekoloji, she supervises carcass search and experimental carcass studies. She is also engaged in farming in her hometown of Çanakkale.
Cemil Gezgin Bird Surveyor
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He started birdwatching at a young age in the forests of Yalova. He became one of the founders of the Istanbul Bird Watching Society in 2000 and mentored countless beginner bird watchers. He took part in bird research and nature conservation projects all across Turkey. He is an author of the TRAKUS Birds of Turkey book and also a regional reviewer for the eBird online bird database. He has been working as a bird and botanical surveyor at infrastructure projects since 2009.
Emre Çetin Bird Surveyor
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Emre’s love of nature has shaped him into both a skilled bird observer and a talented nature painter. Over 5 years of fieldwork at Kıyıköy, he developed deep expertise in the bird populations of the region. He carries the observational skills gained through this work into his nature paintings as well. He currently runs his own business, but still finds time to head out into the field for birdwatching whenever he can.
Kadri Kaya Bird Surveyor
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Kadri Kaya is an experienced nature specialist who has conducted bird observation and field research for many years. He has taken part in bird migration studies, raptor monitoring, and operational-phase monitoring carried out in various regions of Türkiye. He makes significant contributions to projects through his strong field experience and reliable field practices.
Nilgün Kaya Bird Surveyor
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Nilgün Kaya is a nature specialist with field experience in bird observation and biodiversity research. She has taken part in bird migration studies, breeding bird surveys, and operational-phase monitoring in particular, contributing to numerous projects through her careful observational skills and disciplined field approach.
Nizamettin Yavuz Bird Surveyor, Biologist
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He started birdwatching in Samsun Kızılırmak Delta. He has a ringing permit and has been in charge of the Kızılırmak Delta Bird Ringing Station for 20 years. He has conducted and published many nature conservation and research projects in ornithology. He is among the authors of the book TRAKUS Birds of Turkey and also a regional reviewer for the eBird online bird database. He has been working as a bird surveyor at infrastructure projects since 2014.
Sedat İnak Bird Surveyor, Biologist
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Sedat İnak is a dedicated ornithologist and ecologist and surveyor. He served as the lead ringer at Aras and Kuyucuk Bird Ringing Stations for 6 years, where he obtained his bird ringer license. He holds a master’s degree in biology, with a thesis on the song migration strategies. For 4 years, Sedat was an integral part of the survey team responsible for monitoring migratory soaring birds at Istanbul Airport. Since 2019, Sedat has been actively engaged as a bird surveyor on infrastructure projects. His expertise spans pre-construction and post-construction bird surveys and post-construction fatality monitoring. Currently, he is pursuing a doctorate degree in landscape architecture.
Şebnem Samsa İnak Bird Surveyor, Biologist
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She started birdwatching as an undergraduate majoring in biology and completed her thesis on the birds of Çardak Lagoon in Çanakkale. She was a member of the scientific team researching Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles for 4 years, and was part of the survey team monitoring soaring migratory birds at Istanbul Airport for 4 years. Currently she is a PhD student at the Department of Landscape Architecture of Düzce University. She has been working as a bird surveyor at infrastructure projects since 2019.
Süleyman Ekşioğlu Biodiversity Surveyor
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Süleyman Ekşioğlu is a nature researcher who has been working on butterflies and birds for many years, with a strong focus on their conservation. Based in Ankara, he is actively involved in faunistic research, species conservation, and bird atlas projects within the Doğa Araştırmaları Derneği. He has been observing birds since 1991 and butterflies since 2001, and has contributed to numerous biodiversity projects across Türkiye. Through work with the Doğa Koruma Merkezi (DKM), he has carried out extensive field studies, biodiversity inventories, and ecological mapping. He has also taken part in major initiatives such as the Breeding Bird Atlas of Türkiye led by WWF-Türkiye, and has written articles encouraging citizen science and nature observation. As part of the KAB Ecology team, he works on bird monitoring, mortality studies, and acoustic bat research.