Michelle Herman
miherman@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: MS
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Conservation Biology

Graduate Research Topic
Working thesis title: Effects of Water Source and Diet on the Condition of Juvenile Eastern Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) during Rearing in Captivity and Repatriation to the Wild

Joanna Isadora Lumbsden Pinto
jlumsden@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: MPS
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Conservation Biology

Personal Statement
My major area of interest is about the interaction between ecosystem dynamics and anthropogenic and climate alterations. I am interested in comprehend how this interaction influences the resilience and adaptability of the biota and what could be the implications on its management and restoration. I am inquisitive for investigating topics of this nature so we could be able to develop sustainable approaches, interdisciplinary management and conservation methodologies that protect and preserve forests, their components and their inhabitants such as Indigenous People.

Graduate Research Topic
Developing a community and expert based long-term biodiversity monitoring framework which will be executed for the first time in an existing restoration project located in the tropical dry forest in Panama. This, hopefully will serve as a model to be used in other areas in the country that are part of the efforts to restore tropical forests.

Favorite Quote
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis

Leah Nagel
lnagel@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: MS
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Ecology
• Undergraduate Institution: Middlebury College

Personal Statement
Depending on the day, I identify as an aquatic ecologist and/or herpetologist with a particular interest in aquatic community ecology and the role of citizen science in conservation research and community-based conservation efforts. For my Master’s, I am focusing on vernal pools—small, temporary wetlands that dry out frequently enough to impact both the physical processes and the aquatic community within the pool—and the predation-vulnerable amphibians that use them as nurseries for their young. My research focuses on assessing which factors most strongly influence wood frog and spotted salamander survival in central New York State.

Graduate Research Topic
The effects of vernal pool heterogeneity on amphibian survival

Favorite Quote
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” –Aldo Leopold

Claire O'Kane
cyokane@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: MPS
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Conservation Biology
• Undergraduate Institution: Cornell University

Manoon Pliosungnoen
mpliosun@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: PHD
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management

Julia Vanaman
jvanaman@syr.edu

• Degree Sought: MS
• Graduate Advisor(s): Gibbs
• Area of Study: Conservation Biology

Links
Web Link

Personal Statement
I have known from a very young age that working with animals is what makes me happiest. Growing up, I always had an assortment of pets including whatever creatures I found in my backyard, such as snakes, salamanders, caterpillars, and many others. Although these last were only a temporary addition to what my family liked to call "The Menagerie," animals eventually became my permanent passion that spurred me to study conservation biology. We are living in what many scientists are claiming is the sixth largest extinction event Earth has ever experienced, and some have even suggested renaming the Holocene to a more appropriate "Anthropocene." I would do what I can to slow this rate, not only for species' economic value, but for the intrinsic value life has in all its forms.

Graduate Research Topic
To improve our understanding of Common Map Turtle habitat, status, and movement in the Hudson River.

Favorite Quote
"How strange and devouring our ways must seem to those for whom living is enough." -Karsten Heuer