About me

I am wildlife biologist with > 14 years of experience in the field. I recently received my PhD from the University of Montana where I studied the effects of wolf and grizzly bear recovery on cougars and their prey in the Southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (SGYE). While large carnivores and ungulates have been the primary focuses of my career, my experience extends to other taxa in terrestrial, marine and aquatic systems. I also have a previous professional background in languages, international policy and security and disaster recovery. I consider myself both a field biologist and an applied wildlife ecologist who brings strong interpersonal, organizational and communication skills to my work. Some of my specific research interests include:

• the ecology and management of mammals, particularly large carnivores and ungulates;
• community-level interactions;
• habitat and spatial ecology;
• human-wildlife conflict; and
• the effects of human activities on species and ecosystems.

I enjoy incorporating field, statistical and geospatial approaches into my work, and using and optimizing cutting-edge tools in wildlife detection and monitoring. I also believe strongly in connecting research to management and policy, and in building collaborations across agencies, organizations and jurisdictional boundaries to aide in the conservation of species and landscapes. I have worked in high mountain and desert ecosystems in Wyoming, Colorado, California, Arizona and Mexico, and tropical or sub-tropical ecosystems in Honduras, Colombia and China.  I have also worked on management and policy projects based in Sweden and Finland.

Selected Research Projects

• Intraguild competition and predator-prey dynamics following large carnivore recovery in the SGYE
• Population status and management of wolves in Sweden, Norway and Finland
• Global phenology of coat-color changing mammals and the impacts of climate change on these species

Photo credits: Panthera Puma Program (cougar, wolf, grizzly bear); Colorado Parks and Wildlife (golden eagle, bighorn, coyotes, owl) or Fundación Omacha (ocelot, anteater)