My research is motivated
by an interest in addressing ecological questions within
the context of wildlife conservation. I am particularly
interested in the interface between animal behavior
and wildlife conservation, and typically use field
observations and experiments in my research, although
I also use modeling and molecular techniques as needed.
Specifically, I focus on how insights from animal behavior
can enhance our ability to predict how natural systems
respond to human-induced landscape changes. My dissertation
research (with Os Schmitz), was conducted in northeastern
Connecticut at the Yale-Myers
Forest. I addressed the
importance of behavior, specifically territorial interactions,
in determining how populations of small mammals respond
to habitat loss (logging and prescribed burning). As
a post-doctoral fellow in Melinda
Smith’s lab,
I have increased the spatial scale of inquiry, and
am investigating the role of behavior in shaping the
effects of anthropogenic landscape change on grassland
ecosystems in South Africa and North America.
Current Projects
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