Current Projects
Land Management & Lemur-Mediated Seed Dispersal
My current PhD work focuses on the forest regeneration and restorationt in Madagascar in influencing major ecosystem processes. In particular, I am interested in the how regenerating and intact forests compare in seed dispersal activity. To do this, I take ecosystem-level (seed traps, disperser community surveys) and disperser-level (movement and activity of frugivores) approaches. This work can not only shed light on the importance of animals in facilitating plant reproduction and spread, but also inform local management of threatened forests to promote habitat use by primates and growth of trees. I am working with a Malagasy NGO, GERP, as well as several local natural resources management associations (VOIs) in Maromizaha Forest, eastern Madagascar to investigate the impact of protect and regenerating forests on seed dispersal processes. You can learn more about my research from my blog posts.
My current PhD work focuses on the forest regeneration and restorationt in Madagascar in influencing major ecosystem processes. In particular, I am interested in the how regenerating and intact forests compare in seed dispersal activity. To do this, I take ecosystem-level (seed traps, disperser community surveys) and disperser-level (movement and activity of frugivores) approaches. This work can not only shed light on the importance of animals in facilitating plant reproduction and spread, but also inform local management of threatened forests to promote habitat use by primates and growth of trees. I am working with a Malagasy NGO, GERP, as well as several local natural resources management associations (VOIs) in Maromizaha Forest, eastern Madagascar to investigate the impact of protect and regenerating forests on seed dispersal processes. You can learn more about my research from my blog posts.
Past Projects
Local Land Trust Conservation
From August 2020-July 2021, I served as a TerraCorps service member with the Rhode Island Land Trust Council as a land stewardship coordinator. I worked with members and data from 20 land trusts across the state to digitize boundaries for conservation land into geographic information systems (GIS). I also implemented mobile GIS tools for monitoring conservation land in the field and taught land trust volunteers to leverage these systems in their work.
From August 2020-July 2021, I served as a TerraCorps service member with the Rhode Island Land Trust Council as a land stewardship coordinator. I worked with members and data from 20 land trusts across the state to digitize boundaries for conservation land into geographic information systems (GIS). I also implemented mobile GIS tools for monitoring conservation land in the field and taught land trust volunteers to leverage these systems in their work.
Vervet Monkey Behavioral Ecology
From September 2019–March 2020, I served as a field research assistant with the Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, a collaboration between the University of South Africa and the University of Lethbridge. Working with other researchers on the project, I collected behavioral data on groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and habituated additional groups at Samara Private Game Reserve in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As part of this long-term project, I helped investigate the how this adaptable species engages in social behavior in an environment of limited resources and extreme climactic conditions.
From September 2019–March 2020, I served as a field research assistant with the Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, a collaboration between the University of South Africa and the University of Lethbridge. Working with other researchers on the project, I collected behavioral data on groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and habituated additional groups at Samara Private Game Reserve in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As part of this long-term project, I helped investigate the how this adaptable species engages in social behavior in an environment of limited resources and extreme climactic conditions.
Mouse Lemur Coexistence
As part of my undergraduate thesis at UMass Amherst, I conducted a study on how differences in spatial distribution and habitat use may facilitate coexistence between sympatric species of mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis) in northwestern Madagascar. I collaborated with an international team of scientists working with the conservation organization Operation Wallacea to collect data June–July 2017 near Mariarano using nocturnal transect surveys, capture-mark-recapture methods, and morphometric collection. I then analyzed the data with my collaborators using distance sampling spatial capture-recapture modeling. We found that species varied in their distributions across a mangrove–dry forest habitat gradient, which may contribute to their coexistence and have important conservation implications for mouse lemurs and their habitats. Our findings were published in Journal of Mammalogy.
As part of my undergraduate thesis at UMass Amherst, I conducted a study on how differences in spatial distribution and habitat use may facilitate coexistence between sympatric species of mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis) in northwestern Madagascar. I collaborated with an international team of scientists working with the conservation organization Operation Wallacea to collect data June–July 2017 near Mariarano using nocturnal transect surveys, capture-mark-recapture methods, and morphometric collection. I then analyzed the data with my collaborators using distance sampling spatial capture-recapture modeling. We found that species varied in their distributions across a mangrove–dry forest habitat gradient, which may contribute to their coexistence and have important conservation implications for mouse lemurs and their habitats. Our findings were published in Journal of Mammalogy.