Andrea Presotto, PhD
East Carolina University
I work on animal spatial cognition and navigation. My main goal is to understand how animals travel in the wild and which aspects of their landscape affect their daily navigation. Differences in the landscape affect the navigational decision-making of wild animals. The increase in the human population has more than ever impacted how wild animals deal with their landscape, reflecting the species travel decision. ​Geospatial techniques have proven over the years to be a powerful toolset to elucidate the role of the landscape in animal navigation. My work integrates empirical field observations, remote sensing, GIS, and geo-located data.
Are you a student interested in the impact of humans on wildlife?
We are currently searching for a Ph.D. student
Project Overview:
Impact of Human Activities on Primates Species in Mangrove Forests
Andrea Presotto and Stu Hamilton
Understanding the behavior of mammals is a critical component of effective conservation efforts. Primates and large mammals face the challenge of surviving in fragmented landscapes, compounded by rapid land cover changes and increasing human activity in coastal habitats. The PhD student will work within the One Health framework to understand how mangrove-dwelling species are adapting to these changes. This project explores broader questions related to primate behavior in human-dominated and degraded mangrove landscapes. It will involve the collection and analysis of both new and existing geolocated data. High-resolution landscape metrics will be obtained using UAVs and satellite imagery. Spatial data will be collected, processed, and analyzed through a combination of GIS, remote sensing techniques, and statistical modeling.
If interested contact me at presottoa24@ecu.edu