Within my laboratory, I work with teams of interdisciplinary students, research associates, and collaborators to design sustainable solutions for some of the most important problems facing coupled natural and human systems globally (e.g., biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, climate change, human livelihood improvement, among others). While the outcomes of my research tend to be applied in nature, the foundation of my work is grounded in ecological theory and pursued via rigorous application and development of novel tools and utilities. Though my research exhibits considerable taxonomic and thematic diversity, a common connector relates to the role of risk in structuring predator-prey and human-animal interactions. I explore the ways in which a variety of species change their behavior in response to risk and examine how these decisions can scale up to have consequences for conservation and sustainability science. Within this context, I maintain a number of long-term field sites for exploration of these topics and train diverse students to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration around this research.
I am actively recruiting new DPhil students to work on projects including, but not limited to; (1) technological applications to measure, monitor, and verify biodiversity, (2) calculating the costs that large mammal populations incur from human interaction, (3) quantifying the mechanisms that accelerate human-wildlife conflict, and (4) developing strategies to effectively restore wildlife populations. Study areas for this research are located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Qualifications and Experience
Ph.D. with 10 years of experience as a professor teaching scores of courses in Conservation Biology, Ecology and Evolution, GIS, Landscape Ecology, among others. Additionally, I have served as the primary supervisor of >20 graduate students with graduates now gainfully employed in academic, governmental, and non-governmental organisations around the world.
