Current projects
Understanding Global wildlife values
As wildlife management agencies try to keep apace with a rapidly changing society, my research is shedding a light on people’s values toward wildlife around the world and how these values shape our views of nature, societal issues, and wildlife management.
social & ecological impacts of china’s belt & road initiative
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to deliver global economic benefits, but my research is investigating what this nearly US$0.5 trillion initiative means for biodiversity and indigenous communities at risk from development on land and sea.
systematic conservation planning for the “30 by 30” target
With the United States’ new commitment to conserve 30% of lands and seas by 2030, my research is investigating how to best achieve this target for biodiversity, climate mitigation, and livelihoods under diverse and sometimes competing policy objectives.
viability of climate refugia in the Anthropocene
Climate refugia may be one of the last strongholds for biodiversity in the Anthropocene, but my research is revealing just how much of the world’s potential climate refugia are actually suitable for sustaining viable populations into the future.
Investor-state disputes and the global green energy transition
As countries look to start cutting ties with fossil fuel investments to curb global climate change, my research is uncovering the legal and financial risks countries may face if foreign fossil fuel investors sue for lost profits through investor-state dispute settlements.
previous projects
biophysical, political, & cultural dimensions of deforestation
This five-year project takes a holistic approach to understanding and quantifying the role of property characteristics, deforestation policy, psychological constructs, and more on farmers’ clearing behaviors in Queensland, Australia.
China, debt, climate & nature: opportunities for financial stability
With China’s emergence as the largest global bilateral creditor, my research is investigating the opportunities for China to engage in debt swaps for climate and nature in highly debt-stressed countries in order to tackle the global economic and environmental crises.
ecological viability of east african parks and wildlife sanctuaries
This project includes two investigations: an examination of the extent and causes of bush encroachment in Nechisar National Park, and an assessment of the quality, connectivity, and suitability of wildlife sanctuaries as corridors in the Amboseli ecosystem.
modeling alarm call vocalizations in eastern gray squirrels
This project investigated the underlying mechanisms of squirrel alarm calls, using hidden Markov models to analyze calls in response to predatory feral cats and explain the sequence pattern of kuks and quaas within an alarm call bout.