Current Research

My areas of specialization fall within the fields of human dimensions of wildlife conservation and environmental economics, specifically:

• Wildlife conservation: tolerance for wildlife, determinants of human-wildlife conflicts, public and stakeholder support for the conservation of endangered and threatened species, and the impacts of wildlife trade on wildlife and habitat conservation

• Financial and non-financial incentives for private and communal lands stewardship and conservation

• Engaging key stakeholders and the public in measures to prevent species invasions and the spread of wildlife and zoonotic pathogens

• Stated preference estimation: the implementation of contingent valuation and stated preference choice experiments to determine the value that people place on the conservation of species and ecosystem services

Affiliations

Fellow, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Research Fellow, African Wildlife Economy Institute, Stellenbosch University

Editorial Duties

Handling Editor, Conservation Biology

Professional Experience

Associate Professor (tenured), Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 2020-present

Associate Professor (tenured), Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 2019-2020

Assistant Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 2012-2019

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, 2012

Education

PhD, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, 2009

Bachelor of Economics (1st class Honours), University of Queensland, 1999

Bachelor of Arts, University of Queensland, 1998

Current Research

Measuring tolerance for wildlife in metropolitan Atlanta

Education

2016-2021: PhD, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida

2010-2012: MSc, Environmental Studies, TERI University, New Delhi, India

2003-2006: BA, Mathematics, St. Stephens College, Delhi University, India

Journal Publications

• Puri M., Johannsen K.L., Goode K.O., & Pienaar E.F. (2024) Addressing the challenge of wildlife conservation in urban landscapes by increasing human tolerance for wildlife. People and Nature 6(3): 1116-1129.

• Puri M., Goode K.O., Johannsen K.L., & Pienaar E.F. (2024) Engaging urban residents in the appropriate actions to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. Conservation Science and Practice 6(2): e13074.

• Puri, M., Pienaar E.F., Karanth K., & Loiselle B. (2021) Food for thought - Examining farmers' willingness to engage in conservation stewardship around a protected area in central India, Ecology  and Society 26(2): 46.

Awards

2022 Marianne Schmink Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of Florida

2021 Best Talk, Student Conference on Conservation Science - New York, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation

2021 Murray F. Buell Award, Ecological Society of America

2021 Outstanding Graduate Research Award, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida

2021 Outstanding Graduate Student, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida

2020 Graduate Student Fellowship, University of Florida Biodiversity Institute

2020 Graduate Assistantship, Tropical Conservation and Development

2020, 2017 Doris and Earl and Verna Lowe Scholarship, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida

2018 National Geographic Society, Early Career Grant

2018, 2015 Small Grant, The Rufford Foundation 

2017, 2015 Small Grant, The Defries Bajpai Foundation

2016 Graduate School Fellowship, University of Florida

2015 IDEA Wild

2015 Ravi Sankaran Inlaks Fellowship

Current Research

Ecotourism in southern Africa: Understanding the effects on the observer and the observed.

Education

PhD, Zoology; University of Pretoria, 2021 - present

PGCE (Cum Laude), Natural and Life Sciences; Embury Institute for Higher Education, 2020

MSc, Zoology; University of Pretoria, 2020

• Thesis: The effects of social and environmental stressors, diet composition, and body condition on faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) from South Africa

BSc (Hons) (Cum Laude), Zoology; University of Pretoria, 2017

BSc, Zoology; University of Pretoria, 2016

Awards

2018-2019 University of Pretoria Bursary for Masters Research

2017 Honorary Academic Colors, University of Pretoria

Service

Wild dog advisory group of South Africa (WAG-SA): Research and Public Relations Committee, 2019 - present

Affiliations

American Society of Mammalogists (ASM)

Zoological Society of southern Africa (ZSSA)

International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology (ISWE)

Research

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bruce-Crossey

Web of Science: https://publons.com/researcher/3073434/bruce-crossey/

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3264-0171

Current Research

Community connected conservation: tradeoffs and synergies between wildlife movement and protein availability in South Africa

Education

PhD, Integrative Conservation; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 2023 - present

BS (Cum Laude), Conservation and Ecology; Arizona State University, 2022

Cert, Geospatial Systems, Arizona State University, 2022

Awards

2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship

2023 Graduate Research Assistantship, University of Georgia

2021-2022 Dean's List, Arizona State University

2020-2022 Yellow Ribbon Grant

2019-2022 Post 9/11 GI Bill Scholarship

2020 Summer Success Grant, Arizona State University

2016-2020 Air Force Achievement Medal

Research

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7360-3871

Current Research

Paws, Claws, and Laws: Engaging agencies, academics, and pet owners in more effective management of the risks associated with the exotic pet trade in the United States.

Education

2021-2024: PhD, Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia

2019-2021: MS, Wildlife Ecology, Texas State University

• Thesis: Analysis of driver of spring alligator hunting in Texas and policy implications. 

2015-2019: BS, Zoology, North Carolina State University

Journal Publications

• Pratt E.N., Lockwood J.L., King E.G., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Identifying inconsistencies in exotic pet regulations that perpetuate trade in risky species. Conservation Biology 38(2): e14189.

Awards

2024 Warnell Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

2021 Graduate Assistantship, University of Georgia

2021 Martha Smith and Edward Newsom Cooper Graduate Fellowship

2019-2021 Graduate Assistantship, Texas State University

Affiliations

The Wildlife Society

Phi Sigma Theta

Education

2023-Present: MNR, Forestry and Natural Resources; University of Georgia

2019-2023: BS (Ecology, summa cum laude), Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia

• Minor in Environmental Law

• Minor in Korean Language & Literature

• Certificate in Environmental Ethics

• Yonsei University - UGA Exchange (Korean Language and Literature)

Awards

Foundation Incentive for Central America, South America, and Africa Scholarship

Experiential Learning Scholarship

UGA Charter Scholarship

Odum School of Ecology Experiential Learning Fund Fellow

Affiliations

UGA Office of Global Engagement: Global Education Graduate Assistant

Korean Culture and Language Society: Outreach Coordinator, (former) President

Dogs for the Paws: Event Coordinator

UGA Office of Academic Honesty: Remediation Peer Educator, Student Panelist

Current Research

Human dimensions of salmonella transmission at backyard birdfeeders

Education

2024-present: MS, Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia

2023: BS, Environmental Studies, Sociology, and Spanish, Virginia Wesleyan University

Current position: AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation

Research project: Oyster management and restoration along Florida’s Gulf Coast

Current Position: PhD, Environmental Science and Policy, University of California - Davis

Research Project: Preventing the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHDV2) in the United States by engaging key stakeholders in collaborative management solutions

Journal Publications:

• Shapiro H.G., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Falconer perceptions of, and support for, rabbit hemorrhagic disease biosecurity actions. Human-Wildlife Interactions, accepted.

• Shapiro H.G., Ruder M.G., Nimlos N.M., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Understanding rabbit owners’ willingness to engage in disease prevention behaviors. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 219: 106018.

• Shapiro H.G., D'Angelo G., Ruder M.G., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Engaging stakeholders in wildlife disease management: Hunters’ willingness to adopt and support biosecurity actions to prevent the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease. Conservation Science and Practice 5(1): e12858.

• Shapiro H.G., Ruder M.G., & Pienaar E.F. (2022) Down the rabbit hole: Domestic rabbit owners’ perceptions of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2. EcoHealth, 19: 487–501.

• Shapiro H.G., Pienaar E.F., & Kohl M.T. (2022) Barriers to management of a foreign animal disease at the wildlife-domestic animal interface: The case of rabbit hemorrhagic disease in the United States. Frontiers in Conservation Science 3: 857678.

Current position: MBA, University of Connecticut

Dissertation: Understanding Private Landowners' Motivations and Preferences Regarding Forest Biomass Production and Implications for Market Development and Hunting as an Ecosystem Service in the Southeastern United States

Journal publications:

• North B.W. and E.F. Pienaar (2021) Continued obstacles to wood-based biomass production in the southeastern United States. GCB Bioenergy 13(7): 1043-1053.

Current position: postdoctoral researcher, CONICET-UCASal, Argentina

Dissertation: Improving Payments for Ecosystem Service Programs in a Global Deforestation Hotspot: The Gran Chaco of Argentina

Journal publications:

• Núñez Godoy C.C., Branch, L.C., Pienaar, E.F., & Núñez-Regueiro, M. (2023) Determinants and costs of strategic enrollment of landowners in a payments for ecosystem services program in a deforestation hotspot: the Argentine Chaco forest. Ecosystem Services 62: 101539.

• Núñez Godoy C.C., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Motivations for, and barriers to, landowner participation in Argentina's payments for ecosystem services program. Conservation Science and Practice 5(8): e12991.

• Núñez Godoy C.C., Pienaar E.F., & Branch L.C. (2022) Willingness of private landowners to participate in forest conservation in the Chaco region of Argentina. Forest Policy and Economics 138: 102708.

Current position: Assistant Professor - Conservation Social Science, University of Arkansas - Monticello

Dissertation: Incentivizing Rhinoceros Conservation among Private Landowners in South Africa

Journal publications:

• Rubino, E. C. and E. F. Pienaar (2020) Rhinoceros Ownership and Attitudes Towards Legalization of Global Horn Trade Within South Africa's Private Wildlife Sector. Oryx 54(2): 244-251.

• Rubino, E. C., E. F. Pienaar, and J. R. Soto (2018) Structuring Legal Trade in Rhino Horn to Incentivize the Participation of South African Private Landowners. Ecological Economics 154: 306-316.

• Rubino, E. C. and E. F. Pienaar (2018) Understanding South African Private Landowner Decisions to Manage Rhinoceroses. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 23(2): 160-175.

• Rubino, E. C. and E. F. Pienaar (2017) Applying a Conceptual Framework to Rhinoceros Conservation on Private Lands in South Africa. Endangered Species Research 34: 89–102.

• Pienaar, E. F., E. C. Rubino, M. Saayman and P. van der Merwe (2017) Attaining Sustainable Use on Private Game Ranching Lands in South Africa. Land Use Policy 65: 176-185.

Current position: Postdoctoral research associate, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech

Thesis: Florida Residents’ Willingness to Engage in Appropriate Actions to Prevent Human-Coyote Conflicts

Thesis: Florida Residents’ Understanding of Terminology Used by Wildlife Managers in Florida

Journal publications:

• Glass, A. D. and E. F. Pienaar (2021) How do members of the public and wildlife managers understand living with wildlife versus coexisting with wildlife? Human Dimensions of Wildlife 26(6): 559-575.

Thesis: An Analysis of Florida Residents' Willingness to Finance Private Land Stewardship - Demographic and Psychological Factors Driving Behavior

Thesis: Conservation of the Endangered Oribi on Private Lands in South Africa

Journal publications:

• Louw, A. J., E. F. Pienaar, and A. M. Shrader (2021) The biological, social, and political complexity of conserving oribi antelope (Ourebia ourebi) in South Africa. Endangered Species Research 45: 71-83.

Current position: PhD, Rangeland Ecology & Watershed Management, University of Wyoming

Thesis: The Costs of Land Stewardship and Public Preferences for Financing Stewardship on Wild Bobwhite Properties

Journal publications:

• Nimlos N.M., Martin J.A., Palmer W.E., Sisson D.C., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) A cost assessment of intensive wild quail management on private lands in the southeastern United States. Conservation Science and Practice 5(7): e12950.

Thesis: Willingness to Secure Anthropogenic Food Sources from Florida Black Bears (Ursus Americanus Floridanus)

Journal publications:

• Noel, E. T. and E. F. Pienaar (2017) Securing Garbage from Florida Black Bears: Why Are the Appropriate Measures Not Implemented at the Municipal Level? Human Dimensions of Wildlife 22(4): 347-361.

Current position:  

• Assistant Research Scientist, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

• PhD, Interdisciplinary Ecology, School of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Florida

Thesis: People and Panthers in Exurban Southwest Florida: Tolerance for Human-Panther Interactions

Journal publications:

• Rodgers, P. D. and E. F. Pienaar (2018) Determinants of Tolerance for the Florida Panther in an Exurban Community in Southwest Florida. Journal of Wildlife Management 82(4): 865–876.

• Rodgers, P. D. and E. F. Pienaar (2017) Amenity or Nuisance? Understanding and Managing Human-Panther Interactions in Exurban Southwest Florida. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 22(4): 295-313.

Current position: PhD, Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University

Thesis: Florida Residents’ Preferences for Management of the Invasion Risks Associated with the Live Animal Trade

Journal publications:

• Steele, Z.T., & Pienaar E.F. (2023) Educators' and visitors' perceptions of invasive species education in zoos. Visitor Studies 26(2): 143-159.

• Pienaar E.F., Episcopio-Sturgeon D.J., & Steele Z.T. (2022) Investigating public support for biosecurity measures to mitigate pathogen transmission through the herpetological trade. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0262719.

• Steele, Z.T. & Pienaar E.F. (2021) Knowledge, reason and emotion: Using behavioral theories to understand people’s support for invasive animal management. Biological Invasions 23: 3513-3527.

Current position: Post-Doctoral Associate, Invasion Science Research Institute (ISRI), Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida

Thesis: Investigating public support for different methods to manage non-native, invasive species in Florida

Journal publications:

• Pienaar E.F., & Sturgeon D.J.E. (2024) Exotic pet owners’ preferences for different ectothermic taxa are based on species traits and purchase prices in the United States. Neobiota 91: 1-27.

• Pienaar E.F., Episcopio-Sturgeon D.J., & Steele Z.T. (2022) Investigating public support for biosecurity measures to mitigate pathogen transmission through the herpetological trade. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0262719.

• Episcopio-Sturgeon, D. J. and E. F. Pienaar (2020) Investigating Support for Management of the Pet Trade Invasion Risk. Journal of Wildlife Management 84(6): 1196-1209.

• Lockwood, J. L., D. J. Welbourne, C. Romagosa, P. Cassey, N. E. Mandrak, A. Strecker, B. Leung, O. C. Stringham, B. Udell, D. J. Episcopio-Sturgeon, M. F. Tlusty, J. Sinclair, M. Springborn, E. F. Pienaar, and A. Rhyne (2019) When Pets Become Pests: The Role of the Exotic Pet Trade in Producing Invasive Vertebrate Animals. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 17(6): 323-330.

• Episcopio-Sturgeon, D. J. and E. F. Pienaar (2019) Understanding Stakeholders’ Opinions and Preferences for Non-native Pet Trade Management in Florida. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 24(1): 46-60.

Current position: Outreach, Recruitment and Workforce Diversity Resource Assistant, Environment for the Americas and the US Forest Service, Vallejo, California

Thesis: Justice, Equity and Diversity Implications of Wildlife Interactions and Green Space in Metropolitan Atlanta

Awarded the Presidential Award of Excellence, 2022