Upcoming Events
PhD Dissertation Defense - Environmental Science & Policy
Feb 14, 2023, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Hybrid
PhD Dissertation
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
College of Science
George Mason University
Candidate: Tovah Siegel
Defense Date and Time: February 14, 2023 at 2:00pm
Defense Location: Exploratory Hall 3301 or Zoom
Title: Evaluating the Impacts of Land Cover and Climate Change on Biodiversity at Local, Regional, and Global Scales
Dissertation Director: Dr. David Luther
Committee: Dr. Rebecca Forkner, Dr. Cody Edwards, and Dr. José Luís Camargo
ABSTRACT
Human activity drives land cover change and climate change, threatening global biodiversity. Most research on this topic evaluates how one species or population responds to a disturbed environment. However, ecosystems are considerably more complex, and changes to one species has implications for other species in the same environment. Therefore, this dissertation evaluates the impacts of land cover change, specifically forest loss and forest fragmentation, and climate change, on biodiversity. The goal is to evaluate the impacts on complex species interactions and widespread biodiversity loss at local, regional, and global scales with an emphasis on the Amazon rainforest.