Research

I am finishing up my dissertation (expected June 2027). Ask me about city wild cats, urban wildlife connectivity, social-ecological systems (SES), mixed methods, surveys, newspapers, maps, and more!

I am also looking for the next project(s) of my career, post-grad, in and outside of academia. CV available on request or review below.

If you'd like to collaborate, or talk about our shared interests, please contact me at kvichernandez@g.ucla.edu or LinkedIn.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Russo, N. J., Gahm, K., Zuercher, M. E., Hernandez, K., Blakey, R. V., Niesner, C., & Abelson, E. (2026). Monitoring animal movement diversity as a component of biodiversity. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 24(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70038
Mateus-Aguilar, B., Díaz-Salazar, A. F., Andrade-Rivas, F., Batista, N. M., Cárdenas-Navarrete, A., Arenas, A. D., Hernandez, K. V., ... & Echeverri, A. (2025). Assessing Biocultural Diversity Across Scales Using Ecological Indicators. Ecological Indicators, 176, 113616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113616
Echeverri, A., Batista, N. M., Wolny, S., Herrera‐R, G. A., Andrade‐Rivas, F., Bailey, A., Cárdenas-Navarrete, A., Dávila Arenas, A., Díaz Salazar, A., Hernández, K. V., Langhans, K., Mateus Aguilar, B., Levey, D.; Neill, A., Nguyen, O.; Suarez-Castro, A., Zapata, F., Ocampo‑Penuela, N.. (2024). Toward Sustainable Biocultural Ecotourism: An Integrated Spatial Analysis of Cultural and Biodiversity Richness in Colombia. People and Nature, 7(1), 194-214. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10755

o Top ten most cited papers in People and Nature in 2024.

Hernandez, K. V., Andrade-Rivas, F., Zapata, F., Batista, N., Cárdenas-Navarrete, A., Dávila Arenas, A., … Echeverri, A. (2024). Nearly half of Colombian artisan craft plant species lack national and international vulnerability assessments. Ecosystems and People, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2024.2420080

Academic Communities

Hernandez,Katherine_ CV_Sept'26.docx