CV

View my Google Scholar citations

Current Position

2019—            Climate Adaptation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society

Postdoctoral Appointments

2019—            Honorary Fellow, Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2018—2019    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2018—2019    Visiting Scholar, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley

2016—2018    Postdoctoral Scholar, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, in affiliation with Forest Health Protection, US Forest Service

2015—2016    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

2015—2016    Visiting Scholar, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley

 

Education

2015                Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

The role of climate, habitat, competition, and land-use in the distribution and conservation of montane species

                        Advisor: David Wilcove

2012                M.A. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

2006                B.A. Cognitive Science, University of California, Berkeley

 

Research & Teaching Interests

Biogeography, Conservation Biology, Geographic Information Systems, Global Change Biology, Landscape Ecology, Community Ecology, Natural Resource Management, Spatial Analysis, Ornithology, Statistical Modeling, Environmental Science

 

Awards & Grants

2017                Global Collaborative Network, Princeton University (co-PI with David Wilcove, Morgan Tingley, and Umesh Srinivasan)

2016—2017    Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research, University of California, Berkeley

2016                David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship, Society for Conservation Biology

2015                Best Student Oral Presentation, International Congress for Conservation Biology

2013                Walbridge Fund Award, Princeton Environmental Institute

2012                National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

 

Peer Reviewed Publications

2020                Elsen, P. R., Farwell, L. S., Pidgeon, A. M., & Radeloff, V. C. 2020. Landsat 8 TIRS-derived relative temperature and thermal heterogeneity predict winter bird species richness patterns across the conterminous United States. Remote Sensing of Environment 236, 111514.

2019                Srinivasan, U., Elsen, P.R. & Wilcove, D. S. 2019. Annual temperature variation influences the vulnerability of montane species to land-use change. Ecography 42, 2084—2094.

2018                Elsen, P.R., Ramesh, K. & Wilcove, D.S. Conserving Himalayan birds in highly seasonal forested and agricultural landscapes. Conservation Biology 32: 1324—1313.

2018                Elsen, P.R., Monahan, W.B. & Merenlender, A.M. Global patterns of protection of elevational gradients in mountain ranges. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 115: 6004—6009.

2018                Estes, L., Elsen, P.R., Truer, T., Ahmed, L., Caylor, K., Chang, J., Choi, J.J. & Ellis, E. The spatial and temporal domains of modern ecology. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2: 819—826.

2018                Srinivasan, U.*, Elsen, P.R.*, Tingley, M.W. & Wilcove, D.S. Temperature and competition interact to structure Himalayan bird communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285: 20172593. (*Authors contributed equally).

2017                Elsen, P.R., Tingley, M.W., Ramnarayan, K., Ramesh, K. & Wilcove, D.S. The role of competition, ecotones, and climate in the elevational distribution of Himalayan birds. Ecology 98: 337—348.

2017                Elsen, P.R., Ramnarayan, K., Ramesh, K. & Wilcove, D.S. The importance of agricultural lands for Himalayan birds in winter. Conservation Biology 31: 416—426.

2016                Pellegrini, A.F.A., Socolar, J.B., Elsen, P.R. & Giam, X. Trade-offs between savanna woody plant diversity and carbon storage in the Brazilian Cerrado. Global Change Biology 22: 3373—3382.

2015                Elsen, P.R. & Tingley, M.W. Global mountain topography and the fate of montane species under climate change. Nature Climate Change 5: 772—776.

2008                Wittemyer, G., Elsen, P., Bean, W.T., Burton, A. Coleman O. & Brashares, J.S. Accelerated human population growth at protected area edges. Science 321: 123—126.

 

Invited Talks & Conference Presentations

2019                Elsen, P.R. & Poya-Faryabi, S. Addressing climate change through sustainable ecosystem management in the Panj-Amu River Basin. EU-Central Asia Network on Water Science & Technology, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

2019                Elsen, P.R., Farwell, L.S., Pidgeon, A.M. & Radeloff, V.C. Landsat TIRS-derived relative temperature and thermal heterogeneity predict winter bird species richness patterns across the conterminous US. Ecological Society of America, Louisville, USA.

2019                Elsen, P.R., Monahan, W.B. & Merenlender, A.M. Global land use legacies in mountain ranges alter expected species responses to climate change. International Congress for Conservation Biology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

2019                Elsen, P.R. Overview of vulnerability assessments and climate adaptation planning. Theory of change workshop, Kabul, Afghanistan.

2018                Elsen, P.R. The global outlook for conserving mountain biodiversity under climate and land-use change. Weston Roundtable Lecture Series, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

2018                Elsen, P.R., Monahan, W.B., Dougherty, E.R. & Merenlender, A.M. The global protection of current and future climate space. North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Toronto, Canada.

2018                Elsen, P.R. A dual strategy of protecting intact primary forest and minimizing pasture expansion is necessary to conserve Himalayan birds. Princeton Global Collaborative Network on Himalayan Biodiversity Inaugural Meeting, Dehradun, India.

2018                Elsen, P.R. Conserving mountain biodiversity under global change: challenges, strategies, and opportunities. Seminar in Environmental Biology, Kennesaw State University, USA.

2017                Elsen, P.R. Which mountains pass? Gaps in protection along elevational gradients worldwide. International Congress for Conservation Biology, Cartagena, Colombia.

2017                Elsen, P.R. Which mountains pass? Gaps in protection along elevational gradients worldwide. 18th Annual Bay Area Conservation Biology Symposium, Santa Cruz, USA.

2016                Elsen, P.R. The importance of agricultural lands for Himalayan birds in winter. National Congress for Conservation Biology, Madison, USA.

2015                Elsen, P.R. Global mountain topography and the fate of montane species under climate change. Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Seminar, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

2015                Elsen, P.R. & Tingley, M.W. Global mountain topography and the fate of montane species under climate change. International Congress for Conservation Biology, Montpellier, France.

2014                Elsen, P.R., Tingley, M.W. & Wilcove, D.S. Interactions between climate, competition, and habitat in limiting Himalayan bird distributions. International Ornithological Congress, Tokyo, Japan.

2013                Elsen, P.R. Disentangling climate, habitat, and competition as factors limiting bird distributions in the Himalayas. College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan.

2007                Elsen, P. Human demographic change on the boundaries of protected areas. Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Seminar, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

 

Teaching & Mentorship

2016—                Principal Investigator and primary advisor for six undergraduate mentees through the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program and Sponsored Undergraduate Research Program, University of California Berkeley

2016—2017    Undergraduate Honors Thesis Advisor, University of California, Berkeley

2014                Teaching Assistant, Tropical Coral Reef Ecology: field-based course in Panama. Princeton University

2012—2014    Training in field methodologies, including mist-netting, line transect bird counts, vegetation sampling, automated data collection, data entry and geospatial analysis (group of 12 local assistants from India)

2012                Postgraduate field training (two students from US and India)

2011                Teaching Assistant, Fundamentals of Environmental Studies: Climate, Air Pollution, Toxics, and Water. Princeton University

 

Memberships & Affiliations         

2017—            Member, Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group

2017—            Member, World Commission on Protected Areas

2016—            Collaborator, Terrestrial Biodiversity Climate Change Collaborative

2015—            Postdoctoral Research Affiliate, Wildlife Institute of India

2015—            Member, New York Academy of Sciences

2012—2015    External Ph.D. Scholar, Wildlife Institute of India

2012—            Member, Ecological Society of America

2012—            Lifetime Member, Society for Conservation Biology

2011—            Member, Explorer’s Club

 

Peer Review           

American Naturalist, Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology, Diversity and Distributions, Ecography, Ecological Applications, Global Change Biology, Global Ecology and Biogeography, Journal of Biogeography, New Phytologist, PNAS, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Science

 

Professional Development

2018                Media training, Intermedia Communications Training, Inc.

2017                Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion workshop, Raben Group

2017                Communications and storytelling in science, Intermedia Communications Training, Inc.

2017                Science writing for non-scientists, The Op-Ed Project

2017                Facilitation training, Dovetail Consulting Group

2016                Leadership training, Maureen Ryan (Conservation Science Partners)

2016                Diversity training, SACNAS

Previous Work Experience

2010                Biological Field Technician, United States Geological Survey, Vallejo, CA

2009                Geographic Information Systems Mapping Intern, Oceana, Washington, DC

2008—2009    National Forest Program Intern, The Wilderness Society, Washington, DC

2006—2008    Research Assistant, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Department of Integrative Biology, and Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA