An article coauthored by Helena Rheault ’18 was published recently in the science journal Ecosphere. Titled “Long-term Population Dynamics in a Multi-Species Assemblage of Large Herbivores in East Africa,” the piece is a direct result of Rheault’s work in Tanzania during fall 2016, according to Jennifer Hanselman, Ph.D., chair of the Biology Department.
Rheault was accepted into a semester abroad program to work with lead author Christian Kiffner, a professor of wildlife management at the School for Field Studies, Center for Wildlife Management and Conservation in Rhotia, Tanzania. She was part of an eight-person team, studying the population dynamics of 13 herbivore species over 56 years in Tanzania. Rheault’s role was data analysis, and the other researchers on her team are also the article’s coauthors. “Her coauthorship is a reflection on her important role in the research,” Dr. Hanselman says.
Rheault, a member of the University’s Biology Honors Program, presented her Senior Honors Project last fall, entitled, “A Multifaceted Approach to the Management of the Northern Bison Herd in Yellowstone National Park.” She intends to pursue a master’s degree this year and has applied to the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, which would fund her future work on African carnivore population dynamics.
