Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2023-2024

Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado Natural Heritage Program

Research Summary: My research focuses on understanding the dynamics of prairie dog population cycles in the context of plague, livestock grazing, and carnivore biodiversity within grassland ecosystems in the western United States. Currently, prairie dog populations experience drastic cycles from extreme lows, due to plague, to extreme highs after recovery from plague events. At the low extreme, this can have adverse effects on ecosystem processes and local biodiversity while at the other extreme, high populations cause conflict with ranchers that use the grasslands for livestock forage. Our research focuses on balancing these competing interests and establishing more stable dynamics.

Mentor: Ana Davidson