Daisy Prosser ’27, Neuroscience

Daisy Prosser ’27

Major

Neuroscience

Project Title

Connecting Resource Availability to Large Mammal Diets in Akagera and Nyungwe National Parks, Rwanda

Presentation Link

View Daisy's Presentation

Minor(s): English

I investigated different aspects of resource availability, diet and mammal movement and behavior patterns in Akagera and Nyungwe National Parks, Rwanda. In Akagera, we conducted non-invasive surveys of individually identified elephants to sample dung for metabarcoding analyses. Information from these samples can help us better understand these animals’ diet and foraging habits and how these are influenced by changes in the environment. In Nyungwe, we worked with a long-term fruit production dataset, cleaning and formatting the data so that it can be used for future analyses. Our efforts made the data more accessible, which will permit researchers to combine resource availability data with chimp movement and behavior data to further understand how the two relate. I also had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation conference in Kigali, Rwanda, which was an incredible way to learn from leading researchers around the world. While I enjoyed the chance to gain both coding and fieldwork experience, this internship most importantly has given me insight into the intersectionality of conservation research, which I hope to continue to explore as I move forward with my studies.