Congratulations to Dr. Michael Esbach (or at least officially at end of Spring semester 2020) who defended his PhD dissertation “Hunting for Justice: Indigenous self-determination and the sustainability of subsistence in the Ecuadorian Amazon” on 17 March 2020 in a “virtual” defense.  Thanks to committee members Drs. Stephen Perz, Susan Paulson and Robert Walker at University of Florida, and Dr. Flora Lu from University of California-Santa Cruz – great committee for a very interdisciplinary research project and product!  Michael has worked for more than 7 years with the Cofan nation in Ecuador and his dissertation explores the adaptive management system of the Cofan to decide on rules governing hunting and fishing subsistence, among other practices.  His work involved techniques from both social and natural sciences, including interviews, participatory observations, ethnography, camera traps, hunting surveys, distance sampling, participatory mapping, among others. Stay tuned for more results and products.  Michael’s PhD is in Interdisciplinary Ecology in the School for Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Florida, with a graduate certificate from the Tropical Conservation and Development Program in the Center for Latin American Studies.