Embedded Files
Primary Investigator
Primary Investigator
Johannes Foufopoulos
Professor
School for Environment and Sustainability
Graduate Students
Graduate Students
Research Interests:
Collin’s dissertation research focuses on the influences of climate change and land-use change on island reptile communities. Specifically, his research examines relationship between thermal preferences of reptile species and the availability of microhabitats in the Aegean Islands. He has broad interests in spatial and community ecology, conservation biology, and applied wildlife management, and has worked with many game and non-game species across the United States. Collin has served as an instructor for the UM Wildlife Ecology course.
Henry Deforest Wallison
Masters Thesis Student
henwall@umich.edu
Research Interests:
Henry's thesis is looking at the role nurse plants play in facilitating plant regeneration in overgrazed ecosystems. He is broadly interested in the field of plant ecology, and has worked extensively in Michigan restoration, primarily focusing on the removal of invasive species. Additionally, Henry has an interest in plant systematics and is helping the University's herbarium develop a digitized version of their dichotomous key for Michigan plants.
Jeffrey Ferrer
Masters Thesis Student
jrferrer@umich.edu
Research Interests:
Jeffrey’s thesis research focuses on developing ecological models that predict the impact of human-subsidized outdoor cats on island wildlife communities. He is broadly interested in herpetology and is interested in the microevolutionary adaptations that reptiles are forming in response to novel stressors like climate change and invasive species.
Research Interests:
Brittany's research explores the interface of aquatic and terrestrial systems, focusing on how introduced goats affect seabird-derived nutrients on Aegean islands. She is passionate about the conservation and management of island endemic and endangered species and has broad research interests in animal behavior and evolutionary ecology.
Kate Leeson
Masters Thesis Student
kleeson@umich.edu
Research Interests: Kate's research focuses on the conservation of Greek archipelagos where local island ecosystems are currently facing a progressive inundation of plastic. She analyzed the effects of plastic trash on remote seabird islands - ironically transported there by gulls feeding at garbage dumps - on the islands and their organisms, and demonstrated that they are increasingly negatively impacted by this threat.
Qitong Fan
Masters Project Student
qitong@umich.edu
Research Interests:
Qitong's academic path began in Paleobiology at Nanjing University, where she studied trilobites and dinosaurs. With a passion for addressing contemporary environmental issues, she shifted her focus to Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Michigan. Her current research emphasizes island ecological restoration, involving soil sampling, plant biomass assessment, and insect trapping. Qitong thrives outdoors, passionately engaging with both rocks and vegetation to contribute to ecological conservation efforts.
Wanqi Li
Masters Project Student
wanqili@umich.edu
Research Interests:
Wanqi is currently working on her capstone project, which focuses on the ecological assessment and biodiversity restoration of Mediterranean islands. Her work emphasizes geospatial data analysis and visualization of the current overgrazing situation on the islands. This includes conducting three-dimensional reconstructions of the islands using drones and modeling software. Additionally, on a smaller scale, she will map the presence of endangered plants on vertical cliff faces. Wanqi is broadly interested in utilizing geospatial data to analyze environmental issues and make informed decisions for sustainable development.
Sol Llanes
Masters Project Student
Isol@umich.edu
Research Interests: Sol is investigating socioeconomic impacts along with community outreach strategies for his team’s sustainable island restoration project. His broader interests lie in the Anthropocene, focusing on developing solutions to human-driven environmental issues. He is particularly invested in advancing sustainable business practices through life-cycle assessment (LCA) at both domestic and international levels, aiming to align sustainable business with public well-being.
Kieran Ball
Masters Thesis Student
kichball@umich.edu
Research Interests: Kieran's interests focus on community ecology and conservation management, particularly insects and other arthropods. His current research examines how goat grazing on small islands in the Aegean Sea affects arthropod community composition and abundance, and he has also previously worked on soil fauna ecology. Outside of research, Kieran enjoys martial arts, ballroom dancing, and eating stuff off the ground in the woods. Talk to him about bugs!
Jory Telster
Masters Thesis Student
jteltser@umich.edu
Jory’s research is focused on the birds and reptiles of Mediterranean islands and the stressors they face. He closely examines how variables such as land use, habitat fragmentation, presence of invasive species, and predator eradication have affected bird and reptile populations. He is a passionate naturalist with deep interests in island ecology, birds, and conservation biology. As an avian biologist and crew lead, Jory has worked with many bird species in unique ecosystems across North and South America.
Abby Thelen
Masters Student
abthelen@umich.edu
Abby's research interests include animal behavior, population dynamics, conservation biology, evolutionary biology, and community ecology. Her experience working in the Threatened and Endangered Species Department at the USFWS's Michigan Ecological Services Field Office led her to develop a particular interest in research related to imperiled species conservation.
Liam Tank
Masters Student
liamtank@umich.edu
Liam's research interests include wildlife ecology, conservation biology, ecotoxicology, and the effects of human activities on animal habitats and populations. He is particularly interested in understanding how animals respond to environmental disturbances, habitat degradation, and pollution. His previous research investigating airborne microplastic deposition across Grand Traverse County, Michigan, further developed his interest in how human generated contaminants enter ecosystems and affect wildlife and their habitats.
Madeleine Kokot
Masters Thesis Student
mkokot@umich.edu
Maddy’s research interests focus on conservation biology, agroecology, riparian restoration and community ecology. Previously, Maddy has worked with fish, amphibians and birds across the US, Panama and in Scotland. Her current research explores management and prioritization techniques to protect endemic species on uninhabited islands in the Aegean Sea. She is specifically interested in how marine subsidies, intensive grazing, island topography and invasive species impact endemic plant species. Outside of research, Maddy loves getting outdoors, cooking, going for a swim, live music and biking!
Cole Bennett
Masters Project Student
cbennet@umich.edu
Cole is pursuing his Master’s in Sustainability and Development. His research interests include conservation biology, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the application of scientific research to environmental management and policy. His current capstone project focuses on biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration across small Mediterranean islands. Following fieldwork on 17 islands in the Greek Aegean Sea, Cole and his team are developing an evidence-based framework to help prioritize conservation and restoration efforts. He is particularly interested in translating scientific research into practical strategies that support environmental protection, climate resilience, and sustainable development. Outside of research, Cole enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and playing piano.
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Josie Anderson
Undergraduate Student
osiela@umich.edu
Research Interests: Josie is a student in Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity. Her research interests include disease ecology and parasitology using a One Health framework. She is currently working on her honors thesis, investigating how livestock grazing impacts ectoparasitism in Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) across the Cycladic islands. More broadly, she is interested in infectious disease ecology and the ecological factors that shape disease dynamics at the wildlife-livestock-human interface. After graduation, she plans to pursue a DVM/PhD and a career as a veterinarian-scientist.
Research Interests:
Erin is a student in the Program in the Environment with a specialization in Conservation Biology and a minor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. As an undergraduate, her interests are broad and inclusive of wildlife ecology, conservation and management and limnology. She is also a University of Michigan Honors student and is pursuing an honors thesis that focuses on a local eutrophic freshwater system and the impacts of management on its associated watershed. In addition, she has been recently involved with the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum Natural Areas team (ecological restoration and management) and the University of Michigan Biological Station field mammalogy research.
Illustrious Lab Alumni
Illustrious Lab Alumni
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