Elaine Metz
IGC FELLOW | Global Change Center
Ph.D. Student • Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Advisor : Dr. Elizabeth Hunter
Research Interests: Population ecology, landscape ecology, ornithology, conservation
elainemetz@vt.edu
Elaine is a PhD student advised by Dr. Elizabeth Hunter in the department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Her broad research interests lie in population and spatial ecology as well as applied solutions in conservation. Additionally, she is interested in methods leveraging large-scale or remotely sensed data to quantify trends and inform management.
Elaine received her MS in Forestry from Southern Illinois University studying Nightjars—a family of nocturnal birds—using acoustic monitoring. Prior to pursuing her advanced degrees, she developed her interests in science, academia, and conservation by teaching high school biology and backpacking the Appalachian Trail. Her current research focuses on identifying causes of broad scale trends in Cerulean Warbler populations by integrating data from multiple sources. While within the program, Elaine hopes to connect with colleagues outside of her department and learn how to develop interdisciplinary projects.
The Interfaces of Global Change IGEP provides PhD students with a unique intellectual focus and training.
Each IGC Fellow gains depth in their specific scientific area of expertise (e.g. biology or engineering), while simultaneously gaining breadth in the multifaceted realm of global change and the science-policy interface.
