Current Students
Bhavya Iyer
About
​Bhavya is interested in understanding the landscape drivers of human-wildlife conflict and the impacts of conservation and ecotourism policies. She is a part of the Integrative Conservation (ICON) PhD program at UGA.
Education
M.Sc. Wildlife Science, Wildlife Institute of India, India
B.Sc. (Hons) Zoology, University of Delhi, India
Wayne Ryan
About
Wayne is completing his MS studying the ecological effects of watershed manipulations on avian populations in the southern Appalachian Mountains. He is assessing how the removal of understory vegetation has affected bird species richness using mist nets, point counts, and autonomous recording units (ARUs) to record birds.
Education
B.S., Western Carolina University
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Doreen Chaussadas
About
Doreen is pursuing her PhD studying urbanization in American White Ibises (Eudocimus alba) in South Florida, through the lens of Gene-Culture Coevolution. She is specifically interested in applying these concepts, coming from anthropological fields, to understand how wild species can adapt to urban spaces through behavioral flexibility and specific genetic adaptations.
Education
M.S. Ecology, Physiology and Ethology, University of Strasbourg, France
B.S. Biology of Ecosystems and Organisms, University of Paris-Saclay, France
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Myra Kincaid
About
Myra studied Biology at the University of North Georgia (B.S.), where she conducted a year-long survey of the bird-population and vegetation on campus. After graduation, she explored the Catskills Mountains of New York, conducting point-count surveys and collecting song recordings for the New York Breeding Bird Atlas III. The following year, she roamed the mountains of North Carolina, identifying bird species and recording breeding evidence for the NC Breeding Bird Atlas. She is excited to continue her education as a Landbird Monitoring Analyst for the National Park Service, and a Master of Science student in the lab.
Education
B.S Biology, University of North Georgia
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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Maribel Fernandez
About
Maribel is researching the effect of suburbanization on avian populations in Gwinnett county for her PhD. Specifically, she is assessing bird diversity on an urbanization gradient and individual species preferences using mist nets and point counts.
Education
B.S., Animal Science - Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico
M.S., Animal Production Systems - University of Minnesota
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Joullian Lofton
About
After completing her degree at the University of California, Joullian is now working towards an MNR with a focus on geospatial modeling in natural resources and ecology.
Education
B.S. Environmental Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
Michael Lesiak
About
Michael's interests involve spatial analysis for prescribed fire application and its behavior/effects on southeastern ecosystems, especially the longleaf and coastal plain ecosystems where fire may have been absent. Also, he is fascinated with how fire application has shaped and restored past ecosystems and its effects on a broad range of native species’ populations in a changing climate.
Education