Research

Credit: Ron Swaisgood

Giant otter

Emerging threats to giant otter populations in the Peruvian Amazon

In a collaboration with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, I lead a long-term project focused on the diverse influences of human activity on giant otter populations in protected and unprotected areas of the Peruvian Amazon.

Trophic webs in Amazon oxbow lakes

Understanding the drivers of freshwater ecosystem productivity

Oxbow lakes are elongated water bodies with unique environmental conditions and animal communities. As We study the abundance and richness of microscopic organisms such as phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are at the lower levels of neotropic foodwebs.

Ruppell's fox

Movement ecology and interspecific interactions of Ruepell's fox in southern Israel

Rueppell's fox is a small canid that inhabits the Negev desert. I studied their movement and spatial interactions with the red fox, a human-associated species, in a collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Vulnerability of aquatic birds to gold mining and other human activities

The oxbow lakes my team studies in the Peruvian Amazon have several species of birds. We are quantifying the diversity and abundance of these birds in both protected and disturbed lakes to test the hypothesis that gold mining is affecting them. We also plan to capture birds and examine the mercury levels in their blood.

Rock hyrax

Long-term behavioral ecology research of rock hyraxes in Ein-Gedi, Israel

This is a long-term collaboration including two universities in Israel. In my Master's degree, along with my collaborators, I found out that rock hyraxes that belong social groups with higher equality live longer and that male rock hyraxes tend to vocalize in response to pup screams

River otter

Social behavior and population ecology of coastal Alaska river otters

River otters in coastal Alaska are sensitive to changes in fish availability. They also have a complex social system with frequent changes in group composition and scent communication in latrines. I started studying these aspects of river otter ecology during my Ph.D. with the University of Wyoming.