Peter Xiong MS Candidate

Education

B.S. Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2016

About Me

I was born in Minnesota and grew up around the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Despite growing up in an urban area, I found myself frequently around lakes and rivers observing the wildlife. As an undergrad at the University of Minnesota, I worked as a research assistant with the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center on invasive bighead carp and zebra mussel detection and control efforts and additionally in the Oberhauser Lab on the phenology of the common green darner dragonfly. I originally wanted to study marine biology (in Minnesota haha), so I took part in multiple study abroad trips: Bahamas (shark ecology), Honduras (coral reef ecology), Ecuador (Galapagos), and Australia to pinpoint my interests but instead ended up broadening my interests.

After my undergraduate, I left the cold north to start anew in the tropical Pacific. I volunteered on a little-known remote atoll known as Johnston Atoll, where U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was waging war against the invasive yellow crazy ant that was disrupting seabird breeding colonies. After a successful Crazy Ant Strike Team deployment, I island hopped over to Guam and worked as a field biologist dealing with the brown tree snake as a contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey. After 3 years, I left Guam and worked with the Croc Docs for a brief 6 months before starting my MS. A lot of the species I've worked with are invasive and have shaped my interests in wildlife conservation, I am excited to be a part of the Florida Invasion Ecology Lab and to work with the Argentine black and white tegu.

On my free time, I enjoy freediving, spearfishing, SCUBA, rod and reel fishing, photography, video editing, hiking, biking, caving, cooking, and kayaking.

Lastly, I have two failed foster cats named Poki and Ikura, who flew in all the way from Guam.

Publications/Notes

Nafus, M. G., P. X. Xiong, E. H. Paxton, A. A. Yackel Adams, and S. M. Goetz. 2021. Foraging behavior in a generalist snake (Brown treesnake, Boiga irregularis) with implications for avian reintroduction and recovery. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 105450.

Xiong, P. X., F. T. Erickson, and E. T. Hileman. 2021. Rhinella marina (cane toad) predation. Herpetological Review, 52:621-622.

Kabat, K. L., D.V. Young, P. X. Xiong, N. V. Ee, D. R. Bradke, E. T. Hileman, S. W. Gotte, D. G. Mulcahy, and M. G. Nafus. 2020. Hemidactylus CF. Platyurus (Asian Flat-tailed House Gecko). Herpetological Review, 51:540.

Ee, N.V., P. X. Xiong, D. V. Young, K.L. Kabat, D. R. Bradke, E. T. Hileman, S. W. Gotte, D. G. Mulcahy, and M. G. Nafus. 2020. Hemidactylus Tenkatei (Spotted House Gecko). Herpetological Review, 51:540-541.

Ghosal, R., P. X. Xiong, and P. W. Sorensen. 2016. Invasive bighead and silver carps form different sized shoals that readily intermix. PloS one, 11: e0157174.