Meet Christine Wilkinson – ESPM Graduate Research Symposium

Dissertation Title

Life finds a way: Carnivore movement and conflict in developed landscapes

Research Interests:

My research interests include multidisciplinary mapping, human-wildlife conflict, carnivore movement ecology, and participatory methods. For my current research, I am using remote sensing and GIS analyses in conjunction with participatory mapping to understand landscape permeability for carnivores, the dynamics of livestock predation instances and perceived human-hyena conflict risk, and the intersection between human and carnivore resource needs in and around Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

A little more about Christine:

Before attending UC Berkeley, I spent several years working in conservation biology and natural resource management around the USA and in East Africa. I was also an informal educator, piloting and implementing programs for teens and young adults at the California Academy of Sciences and in Uganda. My experiences as an educator have developed in me a passion for conducting applied participatory research and for empowering community-created solutions to pressing conservation challenges.

Christine’s Finishing Talk

This talk was provided April 30, 2021.

Media Featuring Christine:

Acknowledgement by Christine:

First, I’d like to thank my advisers, Maggi Kelly and Justin Brashares. Their support, collective creativity, and profound thoughtfulness have made my time as a graduate student so enjoyable and exciting while also helping me to grow immensely as a scholar and a thinker. I’d also like to thank the rest of my committee: Iryna Dronova and Louise Fortmann. Iryna has always struck a balance of challenging me to think outside of the box, while also helping me to feel like my ideas are meaningful. And, after much pestering, Louise welcomed me into her fold and has completely changed my life by pushing me to be a truly interdisciplinary scholar.

And, of course, I am so grateful for my lab groups and community in ESPM: the Kelly Lab, Brashares Group, and Fortmann “Lady Lab”. All three of these groups are full of passionate, caring, and funny people who also provide a safe space for intellectually challenging one another and making each other into better scientists and community members. Many of these folks have become some of my dearest friends. The support and community in ESPM shouldn’t be underestimated, and I would not have survived through any of this work (or done awesome collabs!) without my community.

Image of Christine Wilkinson working alongside a team.

My partner, Jess, has been with me since day one of grad school, and has endured the wild ride- including me leaving every summer or for semesters at a time- with utmost support and patience. She’s also helped me through late nights of studying for quals, breakdowns about my dissertation going up in flames, field work challenges and fails, etc. This journey wouldn’t have been the same without her.

This oversized gratitude session would be remiss without thanking my friends, who have been extremely patient with me despite me largely disappearing over the past 5.5 years. They’ve stuck by my side regardless, and given me invaluable advice.

And of course, my pets. Merlin is my 16 year old cat who has endured my late nights and absences always to welcome me home with a big old purr. Petrie, my 13 year old gecko who actually misses me when I’m gone in the field and comes to me when I return. Champ, our sweet old chiweenie who passed away last year, made the dissertation a wild ride with his antics. And River, our newest addition, who is already getting tired of us focusing more on grad school than on him, but he’s being such a good boi about it.