Dr. Anna Thonis
PRODiG+ Fellow
Contact
I am a PRODiG+ Fellow through Stony Brook University's Department of Ecology & Evolution and the Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences. I am the Founder and Co-Chair of the Anoline Lizard Specialist Group (ALSG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC). Additionally, as a Visiting Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, I co-coordinate meetings for the NY Species Distribution Modeling Discussion Group. I completed my PhD in May 2024 in the Akcakaya Lab in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University in New York. Prior to starting as a PRODiG+ Fellow, I was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Winchell Lab at New York University working on urban Anolis lizards.
As an ecologist and conservation biologist, I am interested in how different types of global environmental change (e.g., climate change, urbanization, extreme weather) affect where we find species over varying spatial and temporal scales, specifically reptile species. I am also interested in understanding how these different ypes of environmental change impact a species' demography, behavior, and morphology. I work primarily with Puerto Rico's Anolis lizards, New York's Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina), and New York's introduced Italian wall lizards (Podarcis siculus), but am always open to expanding to additional systems.
In addition to my research, including and engaging the communities that are local to where I am working is immensely important to me. In Puerto Rico, I have trained over 70 local students who I continue to work with, mentor, and assist in applying to internships and graduate school, and who have taught me so much about Puerto Rico’s biodiversity and culture. Locally, in New York, I have had over 150 volunteers from all walks of life assist with my Eastern box turtle surveys. I believe that involving and engaging community members who are local to where I conduct my field work is critical to supporting local conservation efforts and respecting those who live there.
If you're interested in seeing some photos from the field, please check out my Instagram @annainthefield or my Field Photos page on this website!
As an ecologist and conservation biologist, I am interested in how different types of global environmental change (e.g., climate change, urbanization, extreme weather) affect where we find species over varying spatial and temporal scales, specifically reptile species. I am also interested in understanding how these different ypes of environmental change impact a species' demography, behavior, and morphology. I work primarily with Puerto Rico's Anolis lizards, New York's Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina), and New York's introduced Italian wall lizards (Podarcis siculus), but am always open to expanding to additional systems.
In addition to my research, including and engaging the communities that are local to where I am working is immensely important to me. In Puerto Rico, I have trained over 70 local students who I continue to work with, mentor, and assist in applying to internships and graduate school, and who have taught me so much about Puerto Rico’s biodiversity and culture. Locally, in New York, I have had over 150 volunteers from all walks of life assist with my Eastern box turtle surveys. I believe that involving and engaging community members who are local to where I conduct my field work is critical to supporting local conservation efforts and respecting those who live there.
If you're interested in seeing some photos from the field, please check out my Instagram @annainthefield or my Field Photos page on this website!
