Conservation Conversations

The best way to get to know the Conservation Biology Graduate Program is to learn about our students -- what they've accomplished through their research, who they've partnered with to help solve key conservation problems, and how they've managed to develop skills they can use throughout their careers. Take a little time to hear a few Conservation Biology students tell us about their work and how they made it happen.

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Adam Barlow

Adam Barlow is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Conservation Biology Program. He is studying tigers in Sundarbans, Bangladesh.

Interview with Adam Barlow - Sep 2007

Adam Barlow with his local field assistant looking for tiger paw marks.

Narayan Dhakal

Naran Dhakal is a Ph.D. student in the Conservation Biology Program. He is studying voluntary relocation of Pdampur village in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.

Interview with Narayan Dhakal - Sep 2007

Narayan Dhakal briefing park authorities before interviewing local villagers.

Michelle Wieland

Michelle Wieland is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Conservation Biology Program. Her study examines how multiple stakeholders (villagers, industry, conservationists, and government agencies) each perceive, value, and use the environment inside a national park in the Republic of Congo.  She applies historical, anthropological, and ecological methods to examine livelihoods, industrial resource use, hunted mammals, and bushmeat consumption.  The goal is to explore the use of an interdisciplinary approach to better understand the needs of, and relationships between, different groups of people in order to develop insights and inclusive approaches to nature conservation in Central Africa. 

Interview with Michelle Wieland - Oct 2007

Michelle with a charcoal maker to understand various forest activities in study villages. 

Tony Gamble

Tony Gamble is a doctoral student in the Conservation Biology graduate program. Tony has had a lifelong interest in amphibians and reptiles. His dissertation research examines the phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of gecko lizards, specifically the origins of New World geckos.

Interview with Tony Gamble - Oct 2007

Tony Gamble taking a break from field work in southern Namibia.

Anne Cooper

Tilapia have been introduced throughout many areas of the world to produce a stable food resource through fish farming. Fish often escape from farms and establish feral populations - consuming resources and interacting with native species outside of the farm environment. How do these feral fishes impact native species and the people who depend on them for food, livelihood, or cultural resources?


Anne Cooper is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Conservation Biology Program, Fisheries and Aquatic Biology track. Her dissertation research examines how aquaculture escapees compete for resources with native fish species, and the impact(s) this has for each. Anne is examining this question using field data from small streams where feral tilapia live in Southeastern Thailand, and laboratory competition studies that she conducts at the University of Minnesota. Her research will provide valuable insights into fisheries conservation and management with non-native and selectively bred species throughout the world.

Interview with Anne Cooper - Oct 2007

Anne Cooper and her collaborator Mr. Sumpun, a MSc student at Bang Saen University surveying in Southeastern Thailand.

 

Kolla Gopisundar

In the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, the average human density exceeds 700 persons/ sq. km, and the primary land use is rice cultivation. Yet, over 450 species of birds continue to persist in the landscape, including the highest global populations of very large species like Sarus Cranes and Black-necked Storks. What allows this coexistence of humans and birds?

Kolla Gopisundar is a PhD candidate in the Conservation Biology program. Gopi was bitten by the bird-bug while in his third grade when he saw a Golden Oriole in his native city Bangalore in southern India. His study aims to understand landscape features and social practices that allow bird diversity to persist in rice districts of Uttar Pradesh with the aim of applying these lessons in rice-dominated landscapes to maximise benefits for biodiversity.

Interview with Kolla Gopisundar - Nov 2007

Gopi stands beside a flock of Sarus Cranes in Etawah, south-western Uttar Pradesh in northern India.