Alumni

Past Members of the Lab:

MS and PhD students –

Romo C., M.  1993.  Seasonal variation in fruit consumption and seed dispersal by canopy frugivorous bats in lowland mature and successional forests of Peru.  M. Sc. thesis, UM-St. Louis. (Completed PhD at Turku, Finland; formerly in charge of RAP Program for Conservation International in Lima, Peru; currently working as Program Manager, USAID, Lima, Peru).

Evan Notman.  1994.  Factors affecting seed survival in two tropical tree species of a Peruvian rain forest.  M. Sc. thesis, UM-St. Louis. (PhD, Miami University; Teaching and coordinating REU Program for the Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica, AAAS Fellow in Environmental Policy, 2003-2004; now working for USAID, Washington, DC).

Melissa Hayes.  1994.  Consequences of fruit color polymorphism in Rubus spectabilis: an experimental investigation of fruit removal by birds.  M. Sc. thesis, UM-St. Louis. (Veterinarian, New York).

Jaqueline M. Goerck.  1995.  Birds of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil: patterns of rarity and species distributions along an elevational gradient.  M. Sc. thesis, UM-St. Louis. (PhD, UM-St. Louis; Director, BirdLife International Program in southeast Brazil, and President, SAVEBrasil).

Mark Yoder.  1996.  Fruit and seed morphological traits determining seed-handling behavior in the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis).  M. Sc. thesis, UM-St. Louis. (Formerly in charge of Bali Mynah reintroduction program in Indonesia; now working with Field Conservation Program of Dallas Zoo).

Gillian Bowser.  1998.  Genetics, geographics, and prairie dogs: a landscape model of prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) dispersal.   Ph.D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (formerly Assistant Chief of Resources, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve Copper Center, Alaska; also on special assignment to the Director of the US National Park Service; currently Associate Dean, Colorado State University).

Luis Miguel Renjifo.  1998.  Effects of the landscape matrix on composition and conservation of bird communities.  Ph.D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Director, Conservation Biology, Alexander von Humboldt Institute  [National Biodiversity Institute], Bogota, Colombia; currently Dean, School of Environmental and Rural Studies, Javeriana University, Bogota).

Jaqueline M. Goerck.  1999.  Ecology and evolution of Drymophila and Hypocnemis antbirds in the Atlantic forests of Brazil.  Ph.D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Director, BirdLife International Program in southeast Brazil, and President, SAVEBrasil).

Gilbert Barrantes.  2000.  Ecology and evolution of Phainoptila melanoxantha (Bombycillidae, Aves) in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Ph.D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Professor, Biology, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa   Rica).

Sandra Arango.  2002.  Edge effects on tree regeneration in the Colombian Andes.  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis.  (presently Research Assistant, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden; Colombia).

Andrea Loayza.  2002. Ecology and movements of frugivorous bats between forest islands and continuous forest in Beni Biological Station and Biosphere Reserve, Bolivia. (Fulbright fellowship for M.Sc. program; Bolivia, currently professor in Univ. La Serena, Chile).

Tibisay Escalona.  2003.  Maternal effects on reproductive success in a river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) in southern Venezuela.  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis.  (Venezuela).

Tanya Montenegro.  2005.  Population characterization and spatial distribution of Ecuadendron acosta-solisianum D. A. Neill (Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae): a highly endangered endemic tree species of western Ecuador.   M.Sc., UM-St. Louis. (Co-advisor with Dr. David Neill, Missouri Botanical Garden). (Curator, Guayaquil Herbarium, Ecuador).

P. Daniel Hernandez.  2005.  M.Sc. (non-thesis), UM-St. Louis. (Colombia/USA) (currently working for Sierra Club, San Francisco, CA).

Jose Fabara.  2005.  Oil companies in national parks: a case study of Yasuni National Park, Amazonian Ecuador.  M.Sc., UM-St. Louis.  (Ecuador, Fulbright fellow, 2003-2005).

C. Daniel Cadena.  2006.  Biogeography of Buarremon brush-finches (Aves, Emberizinae): Integrating Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis.  (Professor and Chair, Biology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia).

Seema Sheth.  2006.  Habitat occupancy of a primate community in Amazonia Ecuador.  M.Sc., UM-St. Louis. (Research Analyst, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden 2006-2008; PhD student, University of Colorado, 2008-present; USA/India).

Grace P. Servat.  2006.  Effect of local and regional factors on foraging ecology of Polylepis bird assemblage.  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis.  (Peru; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC).

Kimberly Holbrook. 2006.  Seed dispersal limitation in a Neotropical nutmeg, Virola flexuosa (Myristicaceae): and ecological and genetic approach. Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis.  (USA) (The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA).

T. Patricia Feria.  2007.  Predicting species distributions: effects of range size and niche specialization.  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis (Mexico) (CONACyT post-doctoral Fellow, UNAM, Mexico; Associate Professor, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley).

Milton Muldrow.  2007.  Breaking down barriers to forest regeneration. M.Sc., UM-St. Louis. (Assistant Professor, Northern Virginia Community College; USA).

Renata Durães. 2008. Spatial and temporal dynamics of lekking behavior and female mate choice in the Blue-crowned Manakin (Lepidothrix coronata, AVES: Pipridae).  Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Brazil) (Lecturer, Tulane University).

Wendy Tori. 2008. Sexual selection in an exploded lekking species: the white-crowned manakin (Pipra pipra). Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Peru) (Associate Professor, Earlham College).

Andrea Loayza. 2009. Closing the seed dispersal loop for Guettarda viburnoides (Rub.): Connecting patterns of avian seed dispersal with population growth in a Neotropical savanna. Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (Research/Teaching Faculty, Universidad de La Serena, Chile).

Jose Hidalgo. 2010.  M.Sc. (non-thesis), UM-St. Louis. (Ecuador) (PhD program, University of Miami) email: jose.r.hidalgo.m [at] gmail.com

Karen Bauman. 2010. How does the abundance and distribution of resources affect female raccoon home ranges in an urban park? M.Sc.thesis, UM-St. Louis. (USA) (Research technician, Saint Louis Zoo) email: kbauman [at] stlzoo.org

Jeff Norris. 2011.  Urbanization and organization of local and regional avian assemblages in Costa Rica. Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (USA) (Founder, Natural Solutions, conservation NGO in Costa Rica; instructor, Costa Rican high school) (co-advised with Godfrey Bourne) email: Jeff.Norris [at] uwcostarica.org jefnorris [at] yahoo.com

Eliot Miller. 2014. Increasing phylogenetic clustering with increasingly harsh conditions. Ph. D. diss., UM-St. Louis. (USA) (NSF Post-doctoral Graduate Fellowship, University of Idaho). (co-advised with Robert Ricklefs)

Gonzalo Rivas. 2015. Ecological and socioeconomic effects of an invasive canopy tree in the Galápagos Islands. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Ecuador) (Assistant Professor, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador). (Co-advised with Luke Flory). email: grivast [at] usfq.edu.ec

Oscar Gonzalez. 2015. Bird-flowering plant networks in Andean montane forests. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Peru) (Assistant Professor, Emmanuel College, Georgia) email: ogonzalez [at] ec.edu

Hernan Alvarez. 2015. Perceptions, participation, and success in two community-based conservation programs in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. M.Sc.thesis, University of Florida. (Ecuador) (Wildlife Conservation Society, Ecuador) email: hg.alvarezb [at] gmail.com

Farah Carrasco Rueda. 2018. Land-Use Change and Bat Biodiversity: Understanding Patterns, Drivers, and Impacts of Mitigation Efforts. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Peru) (Field Museum, Chicago) email: farahcarrasco [at] gmail.com

Flavia Montaño Centellas. 2018. Disentangling driving forces of avian community assembly along altitudinal gradients. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Bolivia) email: flamontano [at] gmail.com

Vanessa Luna Celino. 2019. Does establishment of community conservation areas lead to greater protection of existing forest? A case study from the Andes of northern Peru. M.Sc. (MALAS), University of Florida. email: lunacelino.dv [at] ufl.edu

Michael Esbach. 2020. Hunting for justice: Cofán subsistence, sustainability, and self-determination in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (USA) email: mesbach [at] princeton.edu

Mahi Puri. 2021. Prioritizing and identifying opportunities for carnivore conservation in human-dominated landscapes of India. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (India) email: mpuri [at] ufl.edu

Emily Khazan. 2022. Thermal, community, and microbial ecology of butterflies of the Colombian Andes. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (USA) (Co-advisor; Advisor: J. Daniels, FLMNH) email: ekhazan [at] gmail.com

Javiera Rudolph. 2022. Ecological consequences of individual variation in animal movement: a modeling approach. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Chile, Ecuador) (Co-advisor; Advisor: J. M. Ponciano, Biology) email: javiera.av [at] ufl.edu

D. Vanessa Luna-Celino. 2024. Fire in the Peruvian Andes: agricultural burns, changes in community-based management, and key actor perceptions. Ph. D. diss., University of Florida. (Peru) (Co-advisor; Advisor: K. Kainer, SFFGS) email: vlunacelino [at] gmail.com

Post-doctoral Associates –

Ana Cristina Villegas (Colombia) (Ph.D. 1998, UM-St. Louis).  1998-1999. Seed removal and plant fitness in Palicourea (Rubiaceae). University of Missouri Research Award.  (International Program, US Fish & Wildlife Service).

Christine A. Howell (USA) (Ph.D. 2001, UM-Columbia).  2001-2003. Testing the coarse-filter paradigm for conservation.  NSF Bioinformatics Post-doctoral Associate. (Research Scientist, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, CA).

Lucia Lohmann (Brazil) (Ph.D. 2003, UM-St. Louis).  Sept. 2003-August 2004.  Using ecological niche models for designing conservation action plan in the Andes.  Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden.  (Professor, Biology, Universidade Sao Paulo).

Pedro Blendinger (Argentina) (Ph.D. 2002, Univ. de Buenos Aires, Argentina).  Aug. 2004 – January 2005.  Recruitment and dispersal limitation for shrubs in the Melastomataceae.  University of Missouri Research Award. (CONICET Research Scientist, Argentina).

Cesar Cestari (Brazil) (Ph.D. 2012, UNESP). 2013-2016. Integrating sexual selection and foraging theory.  Funded by FAPESP, Brazil.  (Lecturer, UNESP-Rio Claro, Brazil)

Therese Lamperty (USA) (Ph.D. 2020, Rice Univ.), 2023-2026. NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Are the consequences of wildlife extirpation in tropical forests reshaping the drivers of plant mortality? Funded by NSF. (Co-mentor: J. Karubian, Tulane Univ.)