Coahuila, Mexico 2020
Sonora, Mexico 2020
Preliminary wildlife survey work in remote wilderness area
Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico
Howler Monkey Ecology and Population Genetics
Los Tuxtlas Reserve in the state of Vericruz, Mexico is one of the countrie's most diverse regions. The reserve still has populations of charismatic species like Pumas, Toucans and Ocelots as well as thousands of other plants and animals. I had the opportunity to work here recently with another postdoc and undergraduate students that are focusing on Howler Monkey population genetics and parasitology. It was one of the most interesting places I have had the chance to visit in Mexico to date and following groups of Howler Monkeys through the rainforest was very interesting. Unfortunately, like many of Mexico's rainforests, the region is under heavy exploitation and the forests continue to disappear. Conservation and wildlife management efforts are a top priority for this beautiful region.
Central Alaska
Wood Bison Restoration Ecology
Field trips dedicated to working with Wood Bison in Alaska have been some of my most exciting and educational field expeditions to date. During the summer of 2017, I worked alone along the Innoko River and camped in some Alaska's most remote wilderness (and some of the world's most remote wilderness for the matter!). All thanks to Tom Seaton and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that hired me for contract work. I conducted another field trip later that year, but in December. The study area had completely transformed under the cover of snow and ice. During the month of December, the temperatures drop down lower than negative 40 degrees f in central Alaska. The winter is also the best time to do live capture and handling work on buffalo because it stops them from overheating during workups. Such a great opportunity to work in remote Alaska while everything was frozen and with a species that had been absent from Alaska for nearly 200 years prior to their recent reintroduction led by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Sumatra, Indonesia
Crocodile Ecology and Conservation
The crocodile leather industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars world wide every year and Indonesia's crocodilian skins are heavily traded internationally. While conducting population surveys for two species in Sumatra we traveled through a series of remote lowland black water swamp forests. Places that were still home to Tigers, King Cobras and other rare Indonesian wildlife.