conservation biology – Faculty /faculty Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:02:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3 /wp-content/themes/b/bates-framework/styles/images/bates-favicon.png conservation biology – Faculty /faculty 32 32 Eric G. LeFlore /faculty/profile/eric-g-leflore/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:17:24 +0000 /faculty/profile/eric-g-leflore/ Ph.D., Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
M.S., Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.A., Environmental Studies, Connecticut College

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in conserving biodiversity in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressure and aim to understand how human activities affect the populations and distributions of large carnivores. Using an interdisciplinary framework and a variety of field techniques, I study the interactions between people and carnivores in the northeastern United States and sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of increasing human-carnivore coexistence. Understanding system-specific sociocultural and human dimensions is critical for successful wildlife management, and as such, my work bridges the ecological and social sciences.

Selected Publications

LeFlore, E.G., F.F. Rivera-Milán, A. McCollum, A. Lennon, Z.S. Ladin, and B. Kluever. 2026. Assessing sustainable lethal take for great blue heron in the Northeastern United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin 50: e70023.

LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, and A.B. Stein. 2023. African lion (Panthera leo) movements in a human dominated landscape in northern Botswana. Journal of Mammalogy 104: 1317-1328.

Van der Weyde, L., et al. 2021. Collaboration for conservation: Assessing country-wide carnivore occupancy dynamics from sparse data. Diversity and Distributions 00: 1-13.

Pozo, R.A., E.G. LeFlore, A.B. Duthie, N. Bunnefeld, I.L. Jones, J. Minderman, S. Rakotonarivo, and J.J. Cusack. 2020. A multispecies assessment of wildlife impacts on local community livelihoods. Conservation Biology 35: 297-306.

LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, M. Tomeletso, T.C. Dimbindo, and A.B. Stein. 2020. Human Dimensions of Human-Lion Conflict: A Pre- and Post-assessment of a Conflict Mitigation Program in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Environmental Conservation 47: 182-189.

LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, M. Tomeletso, and A.B. Stein. 2019. Livestock depredation by large carnivores in northern Botswana. Global Ecology and Conservation 18.

LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, J.T. Finn, S. DeStefano, and J. Organ. 2019. Wild canid distribution and co-existence in a natural-urban matrix of the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. Northeastern Naturalist 26:325-342.
]]> Donald C. Dearborn /faculty/profile/donald-c-dearborn/ Mon, 31 Aug 2015 15:24:27 +0000 /faculty/profile/don-c-dearborn/ Professor of Biology

Evolution, Behavior, and Conservation Biology

My research asks why animals do the things they do, and how we can do a better job of mitigating our impacts on the natural world. Combining lab work with fieldwork on remote islands, I explore how evolution and human activity shape the genetics and behavior of animals, sometimes conveniently intersecting with my love of trail running and mountain adventures.. Recurring research themes include mate choice, parental investment strategies, population structure, and host-parasite evolution. Most of this work is with seabirds and songbirds.ÌýÌýI use a mix of lab methods (mainly genetics tools) and field methods.

My recent teaching at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ includes: Avian Biology,Ìý Genetics of Conservation Biology (BIES 333), Evolution and Interactions of Life (BIO 206), a Host-Parasite Evolution version of BIO 195, Biological Research Experience: Molecules to Ecosystems (BIO 204), and Advanced Topics in Evolution (BIO 355).

Selected Publications

Stratton JB*, Dearborn DC. 2021.Ìý Nest sanitation behavior does not increase the likelihood of parasitic egg rejection in herring gulls.Ìý Current Zoology 67:675-681.

Rand L*, Woodward C*, May R*, Ackerman RA*, Tweedie B*, Zicarelli TB*, Dearborn DC. 2019.Ìý Divergence between genes but limited allelic polymorphism in two MHC class II A genes in Leach’s storm-petrelsÌýOceanodroma leucorhoa.ÌýÌýImmunogeneticsÌý71:561-573.

Tonelli B* and Dearborn DC. 2019.Ìý An individual-based model for the dispersal ofÌýIxodesÌýscapularisÌýby ovenbirds and wood thrushes during fall migration.ÌýÌýTicks and Tick-borne DiseasesÌý10:1096-1104.

Mauck RA, Dearborn DC, and Huntington CE.Ìý 2018. ÌýAnnual Global Mean Temperature explains reproductive success in a marine vertebrate from 1955-2010.ÌýÌýGlobal Change BiologyÌý24:1599-1613.

Dearborn DC, Kark S. 2010. Motivations for conserving urban biodiversity.ÌýÌýConservation BiologyÌý24:432-440.

* = ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ student

 

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