The David H. Smith Conservation

The David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program seeks to develop future world leaders and entrepreneurs who are successful at linking conservation science and application. Smith Fellowships provide two years of postdoctoral support to outstanding early-career scientists. 2006-2007 The Smith Fellowship Program is a partnership between the Cedar Tree Foundation and the Society for Conservation Biology Myra Finkelstein Robert McDonald Tania Schoennagel Katherine Smith Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz Ph.D. Duke University Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, Madison Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara Project Project Project Project Understanding the eff ects of interacting Urbanization and conservation Fire risk and forest restoration in Forecasting infectious disease threats on the survival of long-lived species priority setting: scaling from global the wildland-urban interface of the emergence resulting from the global patterns to local processes Colorado Front Range trade in wildlife 2006-2007 Mentors Dr. Daniel Doak, University of Wyoming; Mentors Mentors Mentors Dr. Th omas Veblen, University of Dr. Paul Sievert, University of Massachusetts Dr. Richard Forman, Harvard University Dr. Dov Sax, University of Georgia; Colorado; Dr. Gregory Aplet, Th e Amherst and USGS; Dr. Michael Fry, Dr. Peter Kareiva, Th e Nature Conservancy Dr. Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia; American Bird Conservancy Wilderness Society Dr. Peter Daszak, Consortium for Conservation Medicine Year highlights Year highlights Year highlights Year highlights • Provided review and management recommendations for the • Conducted a global analysis of the eff ect of urban growth on • Provided congressional testimony in the US House of • Presented a statement, on behalf of herself and the Consortium black-footed albatross status assessment: Black-footed albatrosses are biodiversity and protected areas, utilizing a database of more than Representatives on HR 4200, Th e Forest Emergency Recovery and for Conservation Medicine, at the CDC public hearing on wildlife currently petitioned to be listed as endangered in the USA. 50,000 towns and more than 30,000 protected areas. Research Act, a post-disturbance logging bill. Th e bill, which was trade and the risk of emerging infectious diseases. • NPR radio show interview, “Midway, a Protected Area, Is Also • Organized a research project in the San Francisco Bay Area: the based on weak scientifi c grounds and a poor understanding of the • Elected as an Explorer’s Club Fellow for wildlife trade research. Underfunded” All Th ings Considered, December 29, 2006. eff ect of previous and future urban growth on ecosystem services. ecological role of natural disturbances, was defeated in December. • Presented invited talks on wildlife trade: American Association • News article, “Pollutant Levels Rising in Open Water” by Amy • Taught a graduate-level seminar focusing on techniques for • In collaboration with Smith Fellows Alumnus Cara Nelson, of University Women, Santa Barbara Branch, Santa Barbara, CA Coombs in the ScienceNOW Daily News, April 4th 2006. applying landscape ecology principles to the design of more received a grant ($54K) from the Wilburforce Foundation (March 2006), Pacifi c Lutheran University, Biology Department, sustainable cities and urban regions. Conservation Science Program. Tacoma WA (February 2007). Fellows 2006 Victoria Bakker Julia Baum Jedediah Brodie Peter McIntyre Ph.D. University of California, Davis Ph.D. Dalhousie University Ph.D. University of Montana Ph.D. Cornell University Project Project Project Project Connecting monitoring data to Sharks on coral reefs: estimating Understanding and mitigating the Connecting fi sh management to conservation action: development of baseline abundances & ecosystem eff ects of climate change on the elk- ecosystem functioning: a nutrient- population viability management strategies consequences of their elimination aspen interaction in the northern based approach for rare and endangered carnivores Rocky Mountains, USA Mentors Mentors Mentors Dr. Fiorenza Micheli, Stanford Mentors Dr. David Allan, University of Dr. Daniel Doak, University of Wyoming; University; Dr. Enric Sala, Scripps Dr. Eric Post, Pennsylvania Michigan; Dr. Robin Abell, World Dr. Kevin Crooks, Colorado State Institute of Oceanography; Drs. Rod State University; Dr. Joel Berger, Wildlife Fund; Dr. Patrick Doran, University; Dr. Scott Morrison, Th e Salm and Pamela Weiant, Th e Nature Wildlife Conservation Society Th e Nature Conservancy Nature Conservancy Conservancy Background Background Background Background Vickie’s dissertation research investigated the movement behavior Julia is a Canadian marine ecologist examining the direct and Jedediah’s interests span a variety of issues in conservation, Pete has a particular affi nity for freshwater fi sh. He has studied and habitat relations of forest-associated squirrels in response to indirect impacts of exploitation on marine fi shes, with emphasis on population ecology, and community ecology, though he is the ecology of fi sh, amphibians, snails, and insects in North logging in southeastern Alaska. Vickie is currently assisting Th e large pelagic sharks of the U.S. Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. particularly interested in anthropogenic disruption of species and South America, East and Central Africa, and Madagascar. Nature Conservancy and a land manager consortium by conducting Her dissertation research on shark declines in the northwest Atlantic interactions, promoting sustainable hunting in tropical forests, and Pete’s observations of the impacts of fi shing pressure and habitat demographic analyses to guide management and recovery of the Ocean has contributed to shark conservation eff orts through both the eff ects of climate change on natural communities. degradation on aquatic biodiversity motivated him to use ecological endangered island fox on the California Channel Islands. the IUCN and CITES. research to address pressing issues in aquatic conservation. Fellows 2007 The role of the Science Advisory Board is to provide overall guidance for science, Science Advisory Board research, and training aspects of the program. Dr. Helen Fox is the Marine Dr. Jake Vander Zanden is an assistant Conservation Biologist for the professor at the Center for Limnology Conservation Science Program of and the Department of Zoology at the World Wildlife Fund-US. Helen University of Wisconsin - Madison. Jake works on seascape planning and the is an aquatic ecologist with research links between marine protected areas, interests that include the study of sustainable fi shing, and livelihoods. food webs, invasive species, salmonid She was a Smith Fellow at the Hawaii ecology and conservation biology. He Institute of Marine Biology. was a Smith Fellow at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Deborah B. Jensen is President Dr. David Wilcove is a professor of and Chief Executive Offi cer of ecology and evolutionary biology and Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. A public affairs at Princeton University. conservation biologist, Deborah He is author of The Condor’s Shadow: has more than 20 years of The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in experience leading conservation and America (1999), as well as numerous environmental science programs. She technical and popular articles in the fi elds is immediate past-president of the of conservation biology, ornithology, and Society for Conservation Biology. endangered species protection. Executive Director Program Coordinator Dr. Erika Zavaleta is an assistant Dr. Michael Dombeck Dr. Louis Provencher is the Director of Shonda Gilliland Foster is a graduate of the Sustainable is one of the most renowned professor of Environmental Studies at and respected contemporary conservationists. He dedicated Conservation Ecology of The Nature Development and Conservation Biology Master’s program at University of California, Santa Cruz the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her a quarter of a century to managing federal lands and natural Conservancy of Nevada. His training and has spent the last year on sabbatical Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in Social resources in the long-term public interest. His leadership in was in predator-prey theory, foraging the Bureau of Land Management and as former chief of the with The Christensen Fund. Erika Relations and Political Th eory Constitutional Democracy, and theory, community ecology, fi re afterwards worked in the congressional offi ce of U.S. Senator Forest Service impacted nearly 500 million acres. His legacy is interested foremost in narrowing ecoloy, individual-based modeling, and Carl Levin. She also has experience with the North American is one of steadfast stewardship for the land, and he is most the divide between conservation noted for signifi cant eff orts toward watershed health and arachnology. Louis has interviewed Amphibian Monitoring Program at the Patuxent Wildlife science and environmental problem- Research Center in Laurel, Maryland where she assisted in restoration, sustainable forest ecosystem management, sound every Smith Fellows fi nalist since the solving. She was a Smith Fellow at the the development of a web-based method to test volunteers’ forest roads and roadless area protection. Dr. Dombeck inception of the program. now serves as GEM Pioneer Professor and University of University of California, Berkeley. ability to accurately identify frog calls. She also volunteers with Wisconsin System Fellow of Global Conservation. Greyhound

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