As of October, 2021, I will be working as a Broader Impact Specialist on the NSF funded project, Ecological legacy effects of megacarcasses in African savanna ecosystems.
Megacarcasses, the massive carcasses of megaherbivores (elephants, rhinos, etc.), play a neglected,
but potentially distinctive, role in the function of terrestrial ecosystems. Surprisingly, we know more
about how megacarcasses in the deep sea (i.e., whale falls) impact nutrient cycling and species
diversity than we do for megacarcasses on land. African elephants are the largest land animals, but
we know almost nothing about how the nutrients from their massive carcasses (up to 6,000 kg) affect
savanna ecosystems. Thus, our team asks the overarching question: How do elephant megacarcasses
create dynamic hotspots of ecosystem processes in African savannas? We will address this question by collecting data in the field in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
As the Broader Impact Specialist in the group and co-PI, I will be mentoring graduate students and post docs on science communication, and producing multiple educational and outreach materials. This includes a documentary about the role that elephants play in African savanna ecosystems, in both life and death
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