People

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Bohdan Kamets

Research Assistant

I am interested in landscape and behavioral ecology, more specifically in species interaction. I am curious about the effects of human presence in the ecosystem on behavioral dynamics of animals, as well as consequences of spatial adaptations of animals for humans. Mushroom hunting, mountaineering and jigsaw puzzles are areas of my expertise.

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Carl Jan Risberg

Graduate Alumni

I am broadly interested in terrestrial ecosystem ecology and conservation and have a particular interest in community-based conservation as well as the ecological changes to environments and their interaction networks caused by the Anthropocene. My master’s thesis is titled “A global analysis of non-trophic impact of herbivores on seedling models under contrasting levels of defaunation”.… Read more

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Elena Quintero

PhD student

I am a visiting PhD student from the Doñana Biological Station in Spain (EBD-CSIC). My field of study is plant-animal interactions. I am currently working on frugivory and seed dispersal processes, and how these interactions have co-evolved, how they affect the ecosystem landscape and forest regeneration. I am particularly interested in the role and strategies… Read more

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Julien Ueda

Undergraduate Researcher (2019-2021)

I am interested in how anthropogenic climate change and urbanization affect bird communities. Currently, I am analyzing thirty years of bird transects conducted at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. In the summer of 2021, I hope to repeat a bird point count study that was conducted by Robert Blair in 1992 across an urbanization gradient.… Read more

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Luísa Genes

PhD Student

My research focuses on the conservation and restoration of species interactions in tropical terrestrial ecosystems. I am currently working in rainforests in Brazil and Costa Rica, studying how communities and plant-animal interactions reassemble through restoration and trophic rewilding. Before coming to Stanford, I’ve worked in the reintroduction of howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) to Rio de… Read more

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Lucas Pavan

Ph.D. Student

My research focuses on tropical community ecology and conservation science. Currently I work in southern Cameroon where I am studying how the removal of large mammal species from tropical rainforests impacts avian communities and the ecosystem processes associated with them. Human hunting pressure on wild mammal populations is higher in the Congo Basin than any… Read more

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Pamela Hung

Administrative Assistant

Work phone: (650) 736-8005 Fax: (650) 724-4980 Work Address: 327 Campus Drive, Bass Biology Bldg Room 114C, Stanford, California 94305-5020

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Rafael Acosta

Site Developer

Hi there! I’m a Software Engineer specialized in mobile apps, webs and servers. I love nature, hiking, climbing and I enjoy getting involved in any type of side project, which has led me to lend a hand to this awesome lab with it’s site.

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Rodolfo Dirzo

Principal Investigator

My research is simply part of the research that most lab members are conducting. In addition to that, I conduct some projects in which students from Stanford –and from other universities– participate. I also conduct research in collaboration with other colleagues from a variety of institutions—nationally and internationally, including the following: Patterns of herbivory in… Read more

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Jamie Leonard

Former B.S./M.S. Student

I graduated with my B.S. and M.S. in 2022. As an undergrad and coterm in the Dirzo lab, I worked on associational resistance and susceptibility to herbivory, in collaboration with Nico Eisenhauer’s lab at iDiv, in Leipzig. Now, I am a PhD student in Jonathan Levine’s lab at Princeton, working on eco-evolutionary dynamics, with theory… Read more

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Chinmay Sonawane

PhD Student

I am interested in how animals interact with both the abiotic and biotic components of their environments. My current research questions are: 1. Do social predators and prey engage in collective behaviour during hunts? 2. How does sociality in large carnivores influence ecosystems and human systems? Please feel free to get in touch via email.

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Sriram Narasimhan

Undergraduate

Hey! I’m Sriram and I’m an undergraduate majoring in Biology; Ecology and Evolution and plan on graduating in 2023. I love field work and am interested in landscape ecology and species interactions .

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TJ Francisco

Graduate Alumni

I am broadly interested in terrestrial conservation biology, political ecology, and the effects of anthropogenic land use on biodiversity. I’ve conducted research in Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, and California. My undergraduate thesis is titled “Lizards as a Lens for Understanding the Effects of Land Use Change”. My master’s thesis explores “Contrasting Herpetofauna Diversity in Monoculture… Read more

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Tyler McFadden

Lecturer / Post-doc (2021-2022)

My research investigates the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, focusing on how ecological communities respond to human impacts. My work is solution-oriented and interdisciplinary, integrating field data, human dimensions, and statistical and spatial analyses to inform ecosystem management. Birds are my favorite taxa to work with. My current research takes place in southern Chile… Read more