Education

• 2011 (anticipated), PhD Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 2005, M.S. Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES), University of Maryland
• 1996, B.A. Geology and Geophysics, Yale University

Honors

• NSF IGERT Fellow
• Fulbright Fellow – Bolivia – 2004
• University of Maryland Appalachian Lab Fellowship – 2002-03
• University of Maryland Appalachian Lab Research Grant – 2003-04

International Experience

• Fulbright Fellowship, Bolivia, 2004-2005 Research Project: Building an accessible framework for biologically-based stream monitoring in developing countries
• M.S. Thesis Field Research, Bolivia, Winter 2004 Thesis Project: Assessing and Modeling Landscape Change in a Sensitive High-Elevation Region of the Bolivian Andes
• Peace Corps Volunteer, Guatemala, Agroforestry Program, 2000-2002

Research Interests

I am engaged in collaborative research with the Remote Sensing and GIS lab at the Kunming Institute of Zoology. We will study the ecology and the habitat of species that live in the natural forests of NW Yunnan. We currently are focused on Crossoptilon crossoptilon, or white eared pheasant, a threatened forest bird endemic to the mountains of SW China. Little is known of its habitat selection or distribution in NW Yunnan. We will use field and remote sensing data to study its ecology and distribution. A better understanding of its ecological niche in NW Yunnan can help to guide conservation strategies that will effectively protect the pheasant and its habitat.

Publications

• Brandt J.S. and Townsend P.A. 2006. Land cover conversion, regeneration, and degradation in the high-elevation Bolivian Andes. Landscape Ecology 21: 607-623.

Presentations

• Brandt J.S. and Townsend P.A. Land use - land cover conversion, degradation and regeneration in the southern Bolivian Andes. 2008 US-IALE Meeting, Madison, Wisconsin.

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