The students
Current students
Aliénor Chauvenet, PhD Student
Ali started to work with me as a Master student, exploring processes shaping cheetah population dynamics in the Serengeti. She then started her PhD in October 2009, and her project now focuses on modelling the dynamics of translocated population, exploring how translocations can be used as a conservation tool to mitigate the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Her study species is the New Zealand endemic hihi (Notiomystis cincta) which, in the last 30 years, has been reintroduced to several islands and monitored consistently. Ali's project is funded by AXA.
Eric Ameca, PhD Student
Eric started his PhD in October 2009. His PhD project aims at investigating the mechanisms behind the patterns shaping natural population die-offs (NPDOs) across mammalian populations. Eric did most of his studies in Mexico, where he is from, and an important part of his research is to predict the vulnerability of Mexican mammals to NPDOs focusing on the WWF Mexican biodiversity hotspots designated for priority conservation. Eric is a WWF Russell E.Train Fellow.
Farid Belbachir, PhD Student
Farid started his PhD in January 2008. His project aims at collating information on cheetah abundance and ecology in the Algerian Central Sahara, as well as exploring carnivore interactions with human communities in Central Sahara and western Saharan Atlas Mountains. One of the main outputs of Farid's work so far has been the production of wild cheetah pictures from the Ahaggar National Park, pictures which were obtained thanks to a network of camera traps deployed in the area. The overall results from his PhD are expected to inform cheetah and carnivore conservation in the region.
Caitlin Douglas, PhD Student
Caitlin's PhD research investigates the drivers and processes of environmental change in a dryland riparian ecosystem: the ephemeral Swakop River in Namibia. More precisely, she is investigating how groundwater availability and the invasion of a non-native tree species (Prosopis glandulosa) influence native woody vegetation, and the associated impacts on wildlife. Caitlin started her PhD in October 2009.
Tammy Davies, PhD Student
Tammy's PhD project focuses on the Solomon Islands and aims to: (1) identify indicators for community-based monitoring of ecosystem services; (2) establish baseline data for assessing the extent to which key ecological services are threatened; and (3) determine how community based monitoring and research can be embedded in existing institutional structures to enhance local adaptive forest comanagement. Tammy started her PhD in October 2010.
Claudia Amphlett, PhD Student
Claudia's PhD project is expected to shed light on the potential impact of climate change on biodiversity in Africa, by looking at the links between drought occurrence, human-wildlife interactions, and potential increase in conflicts. Claudia is based at UCL, at the Anthropology department. She started her PhD in October 2010.
Sarah Brooke, PhD Student
Sarah's PhD project focused on the links between human-wildlife conflict and the delivery of ecosystem services in the Gobi desert. Sarah is based at UCL, at the Anthropology department. She started her PhD in October 2010.
Gianfranco Gliozzo, PhD Student
Gianfranco's PhD project focuses on the use of citizen science in conservation and the potential role of new technology to promote such an approach. Based at UCL, Gianfranco aims to explore how games can help raise conservation awareness and generate increased data collection, for the benefit of conservation. Gianfranco started his PhD in October 2011.
Alex Lobora, PhD Student
Alex's PhD project focuses on predicting habitat suitability for cheetahs in Africa. In particular, Alex's work aims to identify recovery areas, where the species could be successfully reintroduced. Alex is registered at the department of Geography at UCL, and started his PhD in October 2011.
Past students
Femke Broekhuis
Femke performed her Master project at the Institute in summer 2007. She was investigating habitat use in cheetah in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Femke is now pursuing a PhD on habitat use in carnivores, in Oxford.
Irene Garonna
Irene was investigating changes in primary productivity on Makira, Solomon Islands, as part of her Bsc training at University College London. Irene finished her project in spring 2009.
Aisling Fowler
Aisling was investigating factors shaping reproductive synchrony in ungulates, as part of her Bsc training at University College London. Aisling finished her project in spring 2010.
Laurence Pidgeon
Laurence was investigating factors shaping reintroduction success in terrestrial vertebrates, as part of his Bsc training at University College London. Laurence finished his project in spring 2011.
Alizée Meillere
Alizée spent 5 months exploring primary productivity changes in Africa over the last three decades, as estimated by satellites. This internship was part of her cursus at ENSAT, France. Alizée left in February 2010.
Lidia Gonzalez
Lidia undertook a 3 month internship at the Institute, exploring primary productivity changes in Africa over the last three decades, as estimated by satellites. Lidia left in August 2010.
James Duffy
James undertook a 13 month internship at the Institute, exploring primary productivity changes in the global protected area network over the last three decades, as estimated by satellites. James joined Kevin Gaston's lab in December 2011.
William Cornforth
Will undertook a 13 month internship at the Institute, exploring primary productivity changes in the global protected area network over the last three decades, as estimated by satellites. Will started his PhD in Edinburgh in December 2011.
Terri Freemantle
Terri undertook a 8 month internship at the Institute, where she mainly focussed on using remote sensing information to evaluate the long term suitability of a reserve in Chad for oryx reintroduction. Terri left in June 2012.
