Team MEMBERS
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Samantha Nunn
Wildlife Technician slnunn2021@gmail.com Samantha recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in Fisheries & Wildlife with emphasis in wildlife science. She is interested in studying herpetofauna and becoming a herpetologist after graduate school. Samantha joined the lab in January 2022. She is assisting in the deployment of remote cameras and acoustic recording units, as well as collecting and processing data used to monitor wildlife at the RCREC in central Florida. Her favorite herps are the Eastern indigo snake and marbled salamander. |
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Alejandra Areingdale
Bilingual Wildlife Outreach and Extension Specialist aareingdale@ufl.edu Alejandra is currently completing her BSc in environmental science and policy at the University of South Florida. She is assisting with the RWELab’s extension program through the translation and social media promotion of wildlife resources aimed at increasing accessibility of educational materials to Florida’s Hispanic community. Previously, Alejandra has interned at a non-profit and assisted with at-risk species research by collecting data on the status and distribution of threatened skink species in Central Florida. She also assisted with a variety of fieldwork such as species surveys, vegetative monitoring, and reintroducing native plant species. When Alejandra is not working or studying, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and spending time with family and friends, especially her cat Julio. |
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Emilie Dedeban
MS Student emilie.dedeban@gmail.com Since Fall 2021, Emilie has been working towards her MSc at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, under the co-supervision of Eric Vander Wal and Hance Ellington. She has a particular interest in conservation and human-wildlife interactions. Her project aims to understand how caribou respond to linear features and quantify the potential impact on their fitness. Prior to this, Emilie studied in France at the University of Poitiers where she earned a master’s in applied ecology. Afterwards, she did an internship in the WEEL lab (Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab in St John's, NL) to study migratory caribou. She worked for almost two years at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France. The goals of the latter project were to understand how the movements and behavior of birds could be affected by the presence of large infrastructure, such as wind farms. |
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Zachery Holmes
MS Student zholmes03@ufl.edu Zachery is pursuing his MSc in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and is interested in how avian biodiversity is affected by varying pasture management techniques and stocking densities throughout south-central Florida. His program began in spring 2021. Zach has worked with listed avian species for the past 4 years. Prior to beginning his MSc program, Zach worked for several entities including research stations, governmental agencies, and private consulting companies across the state of Florida. Zach's previous experience, passion, and research interests revolve around birds and how they adapt to anthropogenic landscapes such as urbanization and agriculture, as well as climate impacted landscapes. Zach's goal is to continue applied avian research to aid in conservation. Outside of research and work, Zach also enjoys hiking, kayaking, volunteering, and birding - all with family, friends, and the pups. |
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Bri Ryver
MS Student bryver@ufl.edu Bri is a MSc in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation working on a wild pig management survey to identify potential barriers to the implementation of best management practices. Bri earned their BSc in Wildlife at Purdue University in Fall 2021. Some of Bri’s work highlights include two years in an underground rodent lab, working with Dr. Rod Williams and his hellbenders, and traveling around Indiana to camp and collect data on eastern hemlock. In their free time, Bri enjoys watching horror films and birdwatching. |
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Alex Furst
MS Student alex.furst@ufl.edu Alex is a MSc student in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, studying the abundance and habitat use of Argentine black and white tegus. He received a bachelor's degree from Muskingum University in 2019 where he studied Environmental Science with a minor in Biology. Alex spent a year at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida on the Burmese Python Research and Removal Project, where he assisted in tracking numerous scout snakes using radio telemetry and aided in the capture and removal of invasive Burmese pythons. Alex has since spent time as a non-native fish and wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, assisting in management and removal projects for Argentine black and white tegus and Burmese pythons. In his free time, Alex enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and herping. |
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Peyton Niebanck
Wildlife Technician pniebanck@ufl.edu Peyton is from Alpharetta, GA and graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife. After graduating, she worked for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, conducting gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake surveys. After that, she moved down to Florida and was involved in invasive reptile management by trapping black and white Argentine tegus in and around Everglades National Park. Most recently, she was part of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), radio tracking various freshwater turtle species on Sanibel and Captiva islands. Now, Peyton is assisting in deploying game camera traps, bio-acoustic units, and tegu trapping. She hopes to gain more experience with data management and learn more about the connectivity and impacts among wildlife in rangeland ecosystems. |
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Nicole Rita
Wildlife Technician ritanicole@ufl.edu Nicole is originally from Finland but has lived in Florida for many years. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.S in Neuroscience. Now, she is assisting the Rangeland Wildlife Ecology Lab with camera trapping, bio-acoustic data, and tegu trapping. For the last 4 years she has worked on a variety of avian ecology projects throughout Florida as a field biologist and hopes to gain more experience with data management working with UF. |
previous lAB mEMBERS
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Hannah Fox
Wildlife Technician Hannah assisted with the design and implementation of a survey of landowners on wild pig management, in order to identify barriers to the use of best management practices. In addition, she developed and assisted with several EDIS publications. Hannah is now working towards her Master’s in Earth and Environmental Resources Management with Dr. John Kupfer at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. Hannah is interested in conservation planning, landscape ecology, and GIS. She hopes to be able to intern with SCDNR or the Congaree Land Trust. In addition to studying wildlife and spending time outdoors, Hannah loves listening to music. |
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Edder Antunez
Wildlife Technician Edder was a technician with the lab from Jan 2022 through July 2022. He is originally from the city of Chicago, Illinois, where he received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2015. During his undergraduate career, Edder was a volunteer for a large scale camera trap research project studying urban wildlife in the greater Chicagoland area. After deploying dozens of camera traps and analyzing thousands of photos, Edder developed a strong interest in the field of wildlife ecology. More specifically, he is interested in studying the impacts humans have on wildlife populations. He has surveyed shore birds in the Pacific Northwest, banded migratory birds in the gulf coast, deployed acoustic recorders to study bats in the East coast, and programmed acoustic recording units to monitor South African birds. Edder is currently pursuing his MSc at Colorado State University. |
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Bethany Wight
Biological Scientist Bethany was a Biological Scientist in the lab from July 2020 through August 2022, and served as a Biological Scientist in another program at the Range Cattle REC for several years prior to that. Bethany is originally from Seattle, WA and moved to Florida in 2005. She earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of West Florida in 2010. This led to her graduate degree and a research position at UWF from 2010-2014 conducting prey density sampling, habitat and vegetation sampling and quantifying aspects of avian foraging behavior. She assisted in all aspects of research and extension programs. She enjoyed being part of a team that contributes to the conservation of our natural ecosystems and wildlife. |