Alisha Andrade ’27, Anthropology

Alisha Andrade ’27

Major

Anthropology

Project Title

Investigating Climate-influenced Evolutionary Changes in an Alpine Yellow-bellied Marmot Population

Presentation Link

View Alisha's Presentation

Minor(s): Climate Science, Environmental Studies, French

I worked with Team Marmot at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado. This study is one of the longest studies on free living mammals — second only to Jane Goodall’s study of chimpanzees — and has produced a vital dataset for scientists studying sociality, climate change, biological populations and phenological and evolutionary changes. One of my primary roles in this internship was trapping and handling marmots to collect biological samples which I later processed in the lab. This allowed me to learn ethical trapping practices along with environmental, health and safety regulations for working with mammals in compliance with IACUC guidelines. Additionally, I collected over 70 hours worth of observational data on the marmots’ social interactions, daily habits and foraging habits through daily monitoring. This was my first time participating in intensive fieldwork and I learned that I enjoyed both the intensive outdoor work aspects of research as well as data analysis. I hope to find more opportunities like this in the future.