WE STUDY HOW HUMAN DISTURBANCE AFFECTS
ANIMAL & TREE COMMUNITIES
IN TROPICAL FORESTS AROUND THE WORLD
WELCOME TO
THE POULSEN
TROPICAL ECOLOGY LAB!
We study tropical forest fauna and flora to deepen our understanding of nature and to advance conservation efforts.
OUR RESEARCH GROUP STUDIES HOW HUMAN DISTURBANCE AFFECTS ANIMAL & TREE COMMUNITIES IN TROPICAL FORESTS.
We combine large-scale field observations, experiments, and modeling to understand the cascading consequences of subtle shifts in natural communities on ecological processes and, ultimately, forest structure, diversity, and ecosystem services. We also work with people, employing socioeconomic and community-based methods to understand how humans affect and are affected by environmental change.
COMMUNITY WILDLIFE PROJECT
The Community Wildlife Project facilitates the establishment and study of community management to achieve sustainable bushmeat hunting.
FOREST STRUCTURE
Working with multiple collaborators in Congo and Gabon, we quantify forest structure and composition and monitor changes associated with human activities.
MEGAFAUNA ECOLOGY
Depletion of megafauna (animals that weigh a ton or more) is one of the most damaging ecological consequences of human activity on Earth.
ECOLOGICAL
EROSION
Human activities influence tropical forests worldwide, altering their form and composition, and in some cases, threatening their very existence.
WHERE WE WORK
We do fieldwork throughout the tropics and sometimes in the US. Most of our research takes place in the largely understudied (shh!) tropical forests of Central Africa, but we also work in India, Mexico, and Panama.
We continue to do long-term research in northern Republic of Congo in and near the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. And, we have collaborative projects in Oaxaca, Mexico; partner with the Duke Lemur Center in the SAVA Region in Madagascar; work on wetlands in the Gujarat region, India; and are starting work on elephant in Thailand.
