ECOSYSTEMS STUDENTS

Carlota is a PhD student in the Environmental Research DTP programme at the University of Oxford. She is interested in understanding the ways in which human land uses, particularly agriculture, disrupt the functioning of ecosystems. In her PhD project, Carlota is going to research the fire regimes of the Brazilian savannahs (the Cerrado) in the context of large-scale agricultural expansion and climate change using remote sensing data, statistical analysis, and modelling. She will also explore the effects of extreme climatic events like droughts and heatwaves on the Cerrado ecosystems and its fire regimes.

Gui is a Brazilian biologist and holds a position as DPhil candidate in the Zoology Department at the University of Oxford. Since 2013, he has been working with jaguar (Panthera onca) ecology and conservation mainly in three research lines: (1) population dynamics, (2) habitat use, and (3) human-carnivore conflict. During his doctorate, Gui will combine three areas of knowledge – movement ecology, human-carnivore conflict, and landscape analysis – developing the first landscape ecological modelled assessment of jaguar population connectivity across the entire geographical range of the species. Landscape modelling based on empirical data, such as GPS-collared animals, are important tools to understand how animals interact with the habitat and, for consequence, to direct conservation actions. His DPhil project, for instance, seeks to reduce anthropogenic impacts on jaguar populations by enlightening core jaguar habitats and key dispersal corridors, as well as testing how future human-induced alterations in the habitat may impact the species on the Continent. Gui's DPhil is a collaboration among WildCRU, Oxford Ecosystems and Mamirauá Institute, sponsored by WildCRU, WFA and WCN.

Ty’s DPhil research investigates the way ecosystems and biodiversity are changing in the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa, as well as the way African states’ political systems structure those changes. His research seeks to inform the sustainable governance of the miombo woodlands, Africa’s largest savanna. Much of his doctorate will empirically test the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa in Zimbabwe’s miombo woodlands. His master’s research investigated how Angola’s post-conflict, resource-dependent political economy has shaped environmental change within Angolan savannas. Before Oxford, Ty worked on ocean policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He attends Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar.

Tash's research uses remote sensing and modelling to estimate fuel loads and predict fire probability across different vegetation types in the Brazilian Cerrado and the temperate and savanna ecosystems of Australia. Her research investigates how ecosystem structure and functioning may change in response to increased drought and fire occurrence. Tash holds a BSc with Honours in Environmental Science and Economics from the University of Western Australia, and an MPhil in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University. In the past, she has worked as an environmental consultant and analyst in Australia. She attends Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Kerry is interested in how terrestrial ecosystems respond to climate change, with a particular focus on the physiology and functioning of plants. Her DPhil research focuses on Southern African savanna ecosystems and how dominant trees and grasses in these systems respond to high temperatures under varying levels of water stress. Her research incorporates field-based species-level observational and experimental studies, coupled with remote sensing analyses of ecosystem-scale responses. She is collaborating with South African National Parks and provincial protected areas for this work and aims to provide a better understanding of how these biodiverse systems may change in the future as the climate continues to change. Kerry loves the outdoors and is happiest sitting by the fire in a remote place in Africa, listening to the sounds of the bush. But she can also often be found curled up on the couch with her cats and a good book.

Xiongjie is a DPhil student from China. His doctoral research focuses on measuring, modelling, monitoring, and forecasting forest spatiotemporal dynamics across tropical ecosystems based on Earth observation in junction with in-situ measurements. Specifically, he investigates how to map and predict plant functional traits from space and how functional traits help to understand forests’ responses to the changing environment.

Paco is a plant ecology DPhil student with a background in ecology and environmental sciences. His doctoral research is focused on investigating the stability of tropical ecosystem carbon and tree population dynamics in the face of increased drought and fire risks, focusing on savannas within the Brazilian Cerrado and on rainforests in Borneo. He will explore ecosystem change induced by climate variability using long-term data from the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment led by Prof. Andy Hector. He will also be describing changes in the carbon cycle of the Cerrado as a researcher within the CERFogo Project, which is coordinated by my co-supervisor, Dr Imma Oliveras Menor, and by Prof. Maria Antonia Carniello from the Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Paola’s doctoral research focuses on the relationships among place-based nature recovery schemes in Mexico funded by the federal government, local mangrove conservation and management initiatives to boost sustainable livelihoods, efforts to promote and enhance community governance, and participatory nature conservation decision-making processes. Specifically, her work explores the mechanisms and outcomes of community-based mangrove recovery approaches. “Conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing mangrove ecosystems can figure prominently in climate change mitigation/adaptation and biodiversity conservation strategies of countries hosting extensive mangrove areas. Nevertheless, there is insufficient knowledge about mangrove degradation status, recovery rates, and the contributions of community-based recovery initiatives.” She aims to fill these knowledge gaps by conducting participatory and collaborative transdisciplinary applied research that draws on natural, social and humanity sciences quantitative and qualitative methods to better appreciate and highlight the socio-cultural, environmental, and economic benefits of community-based mangrove recovery and the co-creation of knowledge. Her research is guided by the needs and aspirations of the local communities she is working with a purpose to continuing building meaningful partnerships and efforts across government programmes and movements pursuing environmental and social justice, system transformational changes, and equity and rights for local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

Jed is passionate about ecological restoration and rewilding, and the intersection this shares with agriculture to improve outcomes for both people and the planet. He is currently working to understand the community structure and differing guilds of mycorrhiza between agricultural and rewilded plots, and how this might influence future efforts and decision making in conservation. Jed holds a BA in Geography from the University of Cambridge, and prior to beginning Oxford worked in circular economy, consulting on reusable packaging design and managing C-suite stakeholders. In his spare time, Jed is also a keen gardener and forager who loves to share his passions with anyone who’s keen to listen!

Kendall is broadly interested in remote sensing, hummingbirds, pollinators, and plant-pollinator interactions. Her master’s research at Oxford combined remote sensing and species distribution modeling to detect habitat change for the Rufous Hummingbird, a species of conservation concern. Kendall holds a BA in Environmental Science and Policy, as well as English, from Duke University. With a background in English literature and a love of visual art, she is passionate about communicating environmental issues in creative ways. Kendall attends Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.

Haoran is interested in understanding how disturbances, particularly tree pests and disease outbreaks, structure ecological communities and alter ecosystem services. For his DPhil, he will apply an integrative approach to create a global database of forest biotic disturbances, and model their effects on forest biodiversity and nutrient cycling. As a specific example, his MPhil work at Oxford BCM modelled how the ash dieback pathogen interacts with the changing climate, and how society could adapt to the crisis. In the future, Haoran aims to expand his strategy towards other disease agents and ecosystem disturbance types, creating an evidence-based database as well as modelling tools to inform international environmental policies. Before coming to Oxford, Haoran held a BA in Ecology from Zhejiang University, specialising in the genetics of ginkgo trees.

Shiyang is passionate about interdisciplinary research, with a focus on spatial ecological modelling across scales, from global to local. His research interests span land-use, biodiversity, climate, food systems, genomics, and genetics. Currently, Shiyang is working on a project that explores landscape connectivity for British biodiversity in the context of climate change. He seeks to address key questions such as: What are the expected outcomes under climate change with a steady-state landscape? What role does connectivity play in this context? And how can we enhance connectivity to link the right areas effectively? Before joining Oxford, Shiyang earned a master’s degree in Data Science from UCL, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in Mathematics.

Tanaya (she/her) is an ecologist and artist from India. Her research interests in biodiversity resilience and nature recovery expand across scales (from fine scale to macro scale) and biomes. She is reading a DPhil in Geography and Environment at University of Oxford on a project that characterises microclimates in mixed tree and grass ecosystems in India and Africa to better understand how we can manage these vulnerable landscapes and the species that inhabit them. Tanaya is most herself when she is outdoors looking for birds and plants, hovering over a coral reef with a magnifying glass, or walking long distances across forests and grasslands. She is actively researching and workshopping how art and science can come together to roll out research more meaningfully and urgently in the world.

With an extensive knowledge and interest in the application of Local Ecological Knowledge in natural resources management, Sulemana’s DPhil seeks to understand the relevance and contribution of indigenous knowledge systems to contemporary Nature-based Solutions, and the application of acoustic and remote sensing technology to the measurement of ecosystem recovery. He will employ camera traps and soundscape measurements to identify patterns in species recovery and biodiversity shifts across different nature recovery interventions while investigating the strengths and limitations of bioacoustic monitoring vs. traditional survey methods at spatial and temporal scales. Sulemana Bawa has a background in conservation biology with substantial research experience in ornithology, herpetology and freshwater ecology. Prior to his studies at Oxford, he has led rewilding initiatives and developed community-based biomonitoring approaches for collaborative resource management in Ghana.

Emily's research focuses on the efficacy of conservation efforts in small, privately-held land within the Ecuadorian cloud forest, working in tandem with the local non-profit, Fundación Cordillera Tropical. Last year, she completed her Masters degree in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management in this same field, writing her dissertation on the drivers of biomass change across tropical forest gradients in Ghana. Prior to arriving at the University of Oxford, she attended Barnard College of Columbia University, where she studied environmental science and human rights, minored in Spanish, and graduated with Magna Cum Laude distinction. She completed two senior theses, the first of which analysed lateral westerly wind movement through hydrogen isotopes extracted from oceanic sediment cores. The second explored urban ecology and bird diversity in New York City, aligning these patterns with local socioeconomic and demographic trends. She also authored a paper for publication working with the Columbia Climate School, examining environmental migration in coastal Bangladesh based on interview-based fieldwork she completed there in 2023. Through these endeavours, she was named a Barbara Silver Horowitz '55 Scholar of Distinction, a Shvidler Leadership Fellow, and an Anne Davidson Conservation Fellow by her college.