Jesse Borden is an MSc student in the Interdisciplinary Ecology program through the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He is a FLAS Fellow with the Center for African Studies and his research interests center around tropical ecosystems, conservation and community ecology. His thesis will focus on different types of ecological disturbances and their various consequences.
Jesse is currently pursuing two research projects. The first is a study on forest fragmentation and habitat loss in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. The thick montane forests in these ranges hold a wealth of biodiversity and extremely high numbers of endemic species. However, they are also suffering extensive habitat loss, due to the conversion of forest to farmland. Jesse’s work in these ranges will examine how canopy dwelling frogs and chameleons move vertically within the canopy to compensate for changes in temperature and moisture caused by forest fragmentation. This can inform conservation decisions locally, but will also begin to explore how canopy species may be better adapted to deal with climate change.
The second project entails invasive lizards in South Florida. There are currently 56 invasive reptile and amphibian species in Florida and many pose a very real threat to native species and systems. It is uncertain, however, to what extent different species pose threats or how various invasive species may operate in concert to compound negative effects. Jesse’s research will attempt to tease apart some of these dynamics while focusing on a somewhat recently established invasive chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus).
Ultimately Jesse hopes to do ecological research in the tropics, and particularly in Africa, that can inform complex management and conservation decisions that are needed in the context of rapid development.