Speaker: Olivia Sanderfoot, Ph.D.
IDRE Fellow
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of California Los Angeles

Location: Link to the recording

Time: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (PST)
Registration Link: https://youtu.be/Xked2hZBq44

Abstract: Global wildfire activity is increasing globally, and people and wildlife are increasingly exposed to hazardous smoke. Despite the well-established risks wildfire smoke poses to public health, few studies have investigated how smoke impacts non-human animals. Birds are especially vulnerable to smoke due to their heightened sensitivity to air pollution. In this talk, I will share my vision for linking big data from ecology and atmospheric science to learn more about the effects of smoke on the health and behavior of birds and discuss several case studies that demonstrate the potential of interdisciplinary, cross-campus collaborations to address critical knowledge gaps and inform conservation.

About the speaker: Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot studies the impacts of wildfire smoke on birds and other wildlife. As the 2023 La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science Postdoctoral Fellow, Olivia is exploring how wildfire smoke influences bird behavior and shapes species distributions in California. Additionally, she is partnering with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to launch a new community science project in southern California to learn more about how smoke impacts local birds.

Before moving to Los Angeles, Olivia conducted her doctoral research in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her dissertation explored how wildfire smoke and urban air pollution impacted the detection of birds in Washington state.

Olivia has been interviewed about her research by National Geographic, TIME, Discover, and Audubon magazines, Popular Science, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, and several local radio and TV stations.

Olivia was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, and is a proud alumna of the University of Wisconsin – Madison; she received her B.S. in biology and Spanish in 2015 and her M.S. in environmental science in 2017. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Olivia is driven by her passion for environmental policy and conservation, her love for birds, and her strong belief in the Wisconsin Idea, the philosophy that a university’s research should be applied to solve problems and improve the health, well-being, and environment of the community it serves.