Dr. Neil H Carter, Assistant Professor, PI of the Conservation & Coexistence Group
I am an assistant professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan. My research is highly interdisciplinary and utilizes field-based, quantitative, and conceptual approaches to understand complex feedbacks among people, wildlife, and ecosystems. I strive to conduct actionable research that advances science and informs decision makers on ways to conserve biodiversity while also sustain (and improve) human well-being. Research interests include: Complexity of socio-environmental systems, sustainability science, wildlife ecology, landscape ecology, conservation ecology, and human dimensions of wildlife management. 

E-mail: nhcarter@umich.edu

Education:
Postdoctoral Fellow – National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (2013 - 2015)
Ph.D. – Fisheries & Wildlife; Michigan State University (2013)
M.S. – Terrestrial Ecology; University of Michigan (2007)
B.S. – Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution; University of California, San Diego (2003)

Current Conservation & Coexistence Group Members

Mark Ditmer, Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Environment Systems
I am an applied wildlife ecologist who is passionate about understanding how human decisions alter animal movement, behavior, resource use, and demography while utilizing emerging quantitative research approaches. I seek to develop new methodological approaches, often leveraging cutting-edge technologies, such as biologgers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and combine data in unique ways to illuminate the mechanisms behind observed patterns in wildlife science. My current project focuses on utilizing novel anthropogenic light and noise data as a new lens to investigate how species space use patterns are influenced by these expanding sources of environmental disturbance.

Email: markditmer@boisestate.edu

​Education:
Postdoctoral Fellow – University of Minnesota & Minnesota Zoo (2015-2018)
Ph.D – Conservation Biology; University of Minnesota (2014)
B.S. – Economics; Villanova University (2005)
B.A. – ​Finance; Villanova University (2005)
Alexander Killion, PhD Student, Resource Ecology Management (UM SEAS)
I am a conservation scientist focused on human-environment systems with an emphasis on sustainable development and wildlife conservation. I use interdisciplinary methods, often relying on quantitative approaches and big data at large scales. My dissertation investigates the interactions and tradeoffs between humans and wildlife in shared landscapes. I also enjoy co-developing research with diverse stakeholder groups to create actionable science products.

E-mail: killion@umich.edu

Education:
M.S. – Fisheries & Wildlife; Michigan State University (2016)
B.S. – Biology and Pre-Medicine; Augustana College (2013)
Tara Easter, PhD Student, Resource Ecology Management (UM SEAS)
I work to understand how various social, political, geographic, and ecological factors interact to affect wildlife conservation. My master's thesis examined the spatial distribution of mammalian richness and small-carnivore interactions outside of Gorongosa National Park in a multi-use area in Mozambique. For my dissertation research, I am studying the spatial patterns and processes of wildlife poaching and trafficking and the social and ecological drivers of those patterns. 

E-mail: tseaster@umich.edu

Education:
M.S. – Biology; Boise State University (2018)
B.S. – Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation; North Carolina State University (2012)
Edward Leal Trout, MSc Student, Biology (Boise State)
The research I conduct is focused on the frontiers of human-wildlife interactions. I am interested in questions of how animals use the landscape in the presence of human activity and the best ways of mitigating human-wildlife conflict. Depredation of livestock by carnivores such as wolves, cougars, bears, and coyotes is a serious and pervasive national problem costing both ranchers and predators. For my thesis, I am working with the Wood River Wolf Project and local sheep ranchers in the Big Wood River Watershed to address these issues.  I plan to combine spatial use data from carnivores, their prey, and sheep herding to develop tools to inform future decision making by ranchers to lower both sheep and carnivore mortality.

Email: edwardtrout@boisestate.edu

​Education:
B.S. – Zoology; University of California Santa Barbara (2016)
B.A. – Classics; University of California Santa Barbara (2016)
Natalie Madden, MSc Student, Conservation Ecology (UM-SEAS)
I am interested in research with a focus in wildlife management and the intersectionality of human-wildlife systems. I hope to create a more just world for both humans and wildlife through my work. My current research is a global meta-analysis focusing on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on birds. Previously, I have studied community ecology among terrestrial mammals.
 
Email: natmadd@umich.edu

Education: 
B.S. Environmental Science and Policy - Biodiversity and Conservation Biology; University of Maryland (2016)

Graduates 

2019 - Abigail Sage, MS in Biology (Boise State)
Integrating social dimensions into spatial connectivity planning for grizzly bears

2018 - Tara Easter, MS in Biology (Boise State)
​Quantifying mammalian interactions and distributions to inform conservation planning in Mozambique

Former Group Members (Boise State)

Dr. Michael J Poulos, Postdoctoral Researcher, Geosciences (2016-2017)
​Udaya Jayawardhana, MSc, Research Assistant (2016-2018)
Katherine Markham, PhD Student (2017-2019)
Sarah Coose, B.S. Student, Research Assistant (2019)
Jessica Mueller, B.S. Student, Research Assistant (2018)
​Anna Roser, Postbaccalaureate Student, Research Assistant (2018)
​Javier Luna, B.A. Student, Research Assistant​ (2017)
Julie Ramirez, B.S. Student, Research Assistant (2017-2019)