I investigate predator-prey dynamics with a special focus on direct and indirect predator effects on prey behavior, prey demography, and ecosystem functioning. Specifically, I explore the anti-predator decision-making of large herbivores in response to predators such as lions, hyenas, cheetahs, wild dogs, leopards, and wolves and track the cascading effects of predators on soil and plant communities. For my work, I design cutting-edge technological tools, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, to tackle complex conservation challenges. My work heavily involves citizen science, public outreach, and capacity building.
I have a PhD in Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution from the University of Minnesota, where I worked with the Serengeti Lion Project (www.lionresearch.org) and the Snapshot Serengeti Project (www.snapshotserengeti.org) to study how lions structure African wildlife communities. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Minnesota examining the ecosystem-wide impacts of recolonizing wolf populations in North America and am currently a National Science Foundation postdoc at Princeton University investigating how ecological communities respond to predator reintroductions.
I have published over three dozen scientific papers and written chapters in books including “Social Strategies of Carnivorous Mammalian Predators” (2022) and “The Biology and Conservation of the African Lion” (2023). I have appeared on BBC’s “Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis”, PBS’s “Life at the Waterhole”, National Geographic’s “Weird & Wild”, Mongabay’s “Candid Animal Cam”, and many other documentary, print, radio, and podcast venues.
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How Tech Reveals the ‘Secret Lives’ of Animals
The New York Times [December 14, 2021] -
Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis
BBC [December 2021] -
‘Life at the Waterhole’ Review: Survival in the Serengeti
Wall Street Journal [May 18, 2021] -
Seventy-Five Scientific Research Projects You Can Contribute to Online
Smithsonian Magazine [June 15, 2020] -
Enter the Zooniverse: Try Citizen Science for Yourself!
WILDLABS [March 18, 2020] -
The Disturbing Sound of a Human Voice
The Atlantic [July 17, 2019] -
Bats Provide Pest Control Services to Deer
Psychology Today [February 21, 2019] -
How Asiatic lionesses shield their cubs from killer males
National Geographic [April 26, 2019] -
Use artificial intelligence to identify, count, describe wild animals
Science Daily [June 5, 2018] -
Stayin' Alive: predator-prey interactions in Africa
BBC EarthLIVE Lessons