Research Themes

Ecological Interactions and Environmental Change

How does environmental change affect species interactions in tropical forests?

I work in collaborative teams to study how land use, human activities, and climate change affect ecological interactions in tropical forests across Madagascar and Gabon. We integrate extensive fieldwork, advanced statistical approaches (network analysis, link prediction, phylogenetic comparative models, etc.), and ethnobotanical surveys. I focus on plant-frugivore interactions. 

Projects:

• ​Effects of weather on lemur frugivory networks over time 
• Effects of weather and evolutionary history on reproductive phenology in Madagascar's rainforests
• Effects of land use on lemur-plant network structure, stability, and functioning
• Effects of anthropogenic activity on mammal and bird frugivory interactions across Gabon
• Predictors of human-animal and human-human interactions in forest frontier communities in rural Madagascar

Drivers and Consequences of Conservation Outcomes

What are the socio-ecological drivers of forest cover change? What are the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecological functioning and human wellbeing? 

​I conduct interdisciplinary research to investigate the drivers of deforestation and biodiversity loss across scales. Together with mathematicians, computer scientists, and social scientists, I combine approaches such as remote sensing, causal inference, and social surveys. The goal of this research is to advance biodiversity conservation for the benefit of nature and people. 

Projects: 

• Effects of income on deforestation: causal evidence from vanilla farming in Madagascar
• ​Effects of political revolutions on deforestation across the globe 
• Relationship between vanilla farming and wildlife hunting in rural Madagascar
• Effects of tourism on deforestation across Madagascar

 Completed Project Topics

• Mangrove pest and carbon dynamics in Ecuador (Fulbright Student Program)
• Spread and consequences of the invasive strawberry guava in Madagascar (undergraduate research at Harvard University)
• Bushmeat hunting in Madagascar (undergraduate research at Harvard University)
• Aquatic foods nutrient compositions (research assistant at Harvard University)