As a PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Dartmouth College, Tom’s research examines the drivers of population decline in migratory wildlife. His dissertation focuses on understanding demographic variability and seasonal movement patterns of a declining wildebeest population in the Tarangire Ecosystem of Northern Tanzania. He became interested in East African conservation while working on a project studying elephant genetic relatedness in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, from 2002-2003. His thesis work involves a combination of computer-assisted individual identification of wildebeest, mark-recapture modeling, satellite-based remote sensing and getting out of muddy ditches. In 2008, he co-led an Earthwatch Institute project which brought over 40 volunteers to the Tarangire Ecosystem to assist with photo identification of wildebeest zebra and giraffe. In 2009, he successfully solicited local conservation organizations and hunting companies to fund and deploy six GPS collars that will be used to help characterize fine-scale movement patterns and larger-scale migratory pathways within the ecosystem. After finishing his PhD, he is committed to continuing to do research on wildlife in Tanzania through a combination of empirical analyses, theoretical modeling and advocacy. He hopes to advance a more-informed dialogue among Tanzania scientists and policy-makers about the conservation and future viability of migratory populations.

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